^     THE      <?> 
O    LIBRARIES   ^ 


SAM  HOUSTON 


AND 


ffijilg   [^i[p[lO[B[Lfl(B 


□ 


BY  C;  EDWARDS  LESTER, 

Author  of"  The  Glory  ami  Shame  of  England,"  "  Th^  Comlition  and  Fate  of  Englaud,"  "  The 
Life  and  Voyages  of  Americus  Vespuciu.s,"  Translator  of  the  Medici 
Series  of  Italian  Prose,  &c.,  &o.,  &c. 


NEW   YORK: 

BURGESS,     STRINGER     &     CO., 

222  Broadway,  corner  of  Ann  St. 

1846. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846,  by 

C.  EDWARDS  LESTER, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  oi'  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


58754 

S<»rtBrt4 


S.  W.  BENEDICT,  STER.   k  PRINT., 
16  Spruce  Street,  N.  Y. 


^ 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER 

BEFORE  HE  BEGINS  THE  BOOK  OR  THROWS  IT  DOWN. 

I  HAVE  lived  to  see  obloquy  heaped  by  the  Sons  of  the 
Puritans  upon  an  outraged  People  bravely  struggling 
for  Independence,  in  the  holy  name  of  Liberty. 

I  have  lived  to  see  unmeasured  calumny  poured  on 
the  head  of  an  heroic  Man  who  struck  the  fetter  from 
his  bleeding  country  on  the  field,  and  preserved  her 
by  his  counsels  in  the  Cabinet.  And  I  have  lived  to 
do  justice  to  that  man  and  that  People  by  asserting 
the  truth. 

This  Book  will  lose  me  some  friends,  but  it  will 
win  me  better  ones  in  their  places.  But  if  it  lost  me 
all  and  gained  me  none,  in  God's  name,  as  I  am  a 
free  man,  T  would  publish  it. 

I  am  no  man's  partizan,  or  eulogist.  But  I  dare 
tell  the  truth  to  the  men  of  my  own  times,  and  leave 
the  men  of  other  times  to  take  care  of  my  reputation. 

1  do  not  ask  the  Reader  to  adopt  my  opinions — but 
I  do  ask  him  to  weigh  my  facts.  I  deprecate  no 
Critic's  severity ;  I  only  say  to  him  as  the  old  Greek 
did  to  the  man  with  the  uplifted  club — "  Strike,  sir, — 
but  hear  me  firsts  Let  us  see  if  any  good  thing  can 
come  out  of  Nazareth  ! 

C.  EDWARDS  LESTER. 

New  York,  25th  August,  1846. 


SAM  HOUSTON  AND  HIS  EEPUBLIC. 


CHAPTER    I. 


THE   HERO-PEOPLE. 


There  are  moments  in  our  lives,  on  which  fortune  loves  to 
hang  all  our  future  history ;  and,  when  we  meet  the  crisis 
like  men,  she  takes  care  of  the  future  for  us.  Once  past  the 
hour  of  trial,  there  are  no  more  hardships  to  undergo,  no  more 
dangers  to  encounter.  The  gates,  which  guard  the  way  to 
glory,  are  swung  wide  open  to  the  advancing  hero,  and  he 
treads  the  path  of  light  and  triumph,  as  the  Roman  conqueror 
marched  up  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  through  the  streets  of  the 
Eternal  City. 

So,  too,  there  are  days  in  the  lives  of  nations,  when  fortune 
loves  TO  suspend  the  glory  of  a  people  upon  a  single  hour — 
when  they  are  called  on  to  decide  what  their  future  history 
shall  be — whether  their  banners  shall  float  over  new  empires, 
extending  their  liberty,  laws,  and  civilisation  over  oppressed 
and  benighted  millions,  crushing  old  structures  of  despot- 
ism, breaking  the  arm  of  the  tyrant,  and  melting  away  the 
rotten  fabrics  of  hoary  superstitions,  to  emancipate  whole 
peoples — or,  whether  the  wheels  of  their  national  greatness,  like 
the  sun  of  Joshua,  shall  stand  still  in  mid  heaven,  and  the 
solemn  proclamation  go  forth,  that  they  have  reached  the  far- 
thest limits  of  their  civilisation — that  the  race  of  their  daring 
young  men  is  suddenly  arrested — that  there  shall  be  no  new 
field  for  untrodden  adventure  and  lofty  achievement — that  the 
world,  and  even  despotism  itself,  may  roll  its  wheels  of  con- 
quest up  to  their  frontier  borders,  and  enlarge  the  empire  of 


b  TRIAL    DAYS    TO    NATIONS. 

tyranny  and  superstition  at  its  will,  for  they  have  done  their 
work.  They  have  extended  the  bright  circle  of  their  freedom 
and  power  till  they  can  extend  it  no  longer.  No  bold  woods- 
man may  pass  their  limits,  and  plunge  off  into  the  wilds,  to 
cut  out  for  himself  and  his  children  a  home  in  God's  own 
forests,  for  his  government  will  never  protect  the  squatter  ad- 
venturer, albeit  the  James  River  settler,  and  the  uncompromis- 
ing Puritan,  were  nothing  more. 

And  if  so  be  one  after  another  of  these  forest  Heroes  has 
led  the  way  through  the  green  woods  beyond  the  Sabine,  and 
they  can  at  last  show  the  traveller  the  smoke  of  ten  thousand 
new  cottages,  wreathing  up  into  the  clear  blue  sky  of  New 
Estramadura ;  and  if  so  be  this  new  race  of  Puritans,  Cava- 
liers, Huguenots,  Catholics  and  Outlaws,  all  fraternally  min- 
gled, have  built  up  the  beautiful  fabric  of  a  new  free  common- 
wealth, for  all  the  world  to  come  to  for  a  home,  and  done  it 
withal  while  they  were  protecting  their  wives  and  little  chil- 
dren from  savages,  made  remorseless  by  Vxxx\{?Lnfire-ivater^  and 
from  the  enervated,  but  perfidious  Mexicans — why,  even  after 
these  Hunter-Legislators,  these  Squatter-Founders  of  States, 
have  done  all  the  hard  work,  this  old  republic,  whose  wheels 
can  roll  no  further,  will  not  even  accept,  what  no  other  nation 
ever  had  to  offer,  the  free  gift  of  a  mighty  domain  declared 
independent,  as  New  York  and  Virginia  were  seventy  years 
ago,  although  the  offering  be  made  without  money  and  with- 
out price. 

Yes,  these  trial  days  come  to  nations  as  they  come  to  men. 
One  of  those  Rubicon-hours  came  on  the  cold  bleak  Rock  of 
Plymouth,  where  a  little  band  of  liberty-loving  men  landed, 
under  the  cover  of  a  keen  northern  blast,  to  begin  the  great 
business  for  which  Anglo-Saxons  crossed  the  Atlantic,  of 
founding  free  commonwealths.  Virginia,  too,  had  her  hour, 
and  her  Cavaliers  went  through  Indian-haunted  woods,  as 
Marshal  Ney's  cavalry  charged  through  the  Black  Forest. 

At  last,  after  much  debate  and  more  stupid  misconception, 
the  New  Republic,  par  excellence,  came  and  laid  on  our  federal 
altars  her  young  shield.     It  was  riddled  with  rifle-bullets,  and 


THE    HERO-PEOPLE.  7 

battered  by  the  trenchant  strokes  of  the  tomahawk.  You  need 
not  have  looked  very  close  to  have  seen,  too,  the  ghostly  image 
of  Mexican  treachery  filling  up  the  interstices.  What  an  offer- 
ing was  this !  A  young  hero-people,  a  new  Rome,  coming 
out  of  the  forests,  walking  in  light,  and  clothed  in  strength, 
and  advancing  in  manliness  up  to  our  altars. 

"When  the  future  historian  shall  tell  his  readers  that  the 
Young  Republic  was  driven  away  from  our  Capitol,  and  her 
shield  hurled  back  in  her  face,  they  will  not  believe  it.  That 
the  Representatives  of  America  debated,  hesitated,  laughed 
Texas  to  scorn,  will,  to  the  next  generation,  seem  a  malignant 
invention  of  the  historian.  But  it  was  so,  and  the  last  re- 
source of  republicanism  was  resorted  to.  The  Texian  ban- 
ner was  flung  to  the  breeze,  and  the  People  of  this  country 
were  asked  to  settle  the  question.  And  over  the  hills  of  New 
England,  the  rallying  cry  rang  where  the  young  American 
Eagle  first  unfurled  his  wings,  and  far  up  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  down  to  the  Florida  coast,  and  back  came 
the  glorious  shout  of  a  grateful  welcome,  and  Texas  came 
into  the  Union. 

It  was  a  proud  day  when  her  Senators  took  their  seats. 
Greatest,  and  most  daring  of  all  the  Texians,  came  that  won- 
drous man,  who  had  stood  by  the  side  of  the  Young  Repub- 
lic, leaning  on  his  rifle,  and  rocked  her  infancy  in  those  far-off 
wilds.  Yes,  there  he  stood,  on  the  threshold  of  the  Senate 
Chamber,  bringing  in  his  arms,  not  like  the  triumphant  Gene- 
rals of  Rome,  the  fine  gold  or  precious  stones  of  distant  bar- 
baric princes,  lashed  to  his  victorious  car,  but  a  new  and  a 
vast  empire.  There  stood  the  tall,  erect,  ample  form  of  the 
care-worn  chieftain — his  locks  turned  prematurely  grey  by  the 
hardships  of  a  revolutionary  frontier  life.  His  wounds  were 
upon  him,  for  he  had  bled  freely  in  the  service  of  two  Repub- 
lics.    Let  us  inquire  something  of  the  history  of  this  Man. 


CHAPTER     II. 


THE    BEGINNING   OF    LIFE. 


Gen.  Sam  Houston  was  born  the  2d  of  March,  1793,  in 
Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  seven  miles  east  of  Lexington, 
at  a  place  known  as  Timber  Ridge  Church.  The  day  of  his 
birth,  he  was,  many  years  afterwards,  to  celebrate  as  the  anni- 
versary of  the  birth  of  a  new  Republic — for  it  was  on  his 
natal  day  that  Texas  declared  herself,  by  the  grace  of  God 
and  her  own  brave  riflemen,  free  and  independent. 

His  ancestors,  on  his  father's  and  mother's  side,  are  traced 
back  to  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  They  are  there  found 
fighting  for  "  God  and  Liberty,"  by  the  side  of  John  Knox. 
During  those  times  of  trouble,  they  emigrated  with  that  nu- 
merous throng  of  brave  men  and  women  who  were  driven 
away  from  their  Highland  homes,  to  seek  a  refuge  in  the 
North  of  Ireland.  Here  they  remained  till  the  siege  of  Derry, 
in  which  they  were  engaged,  when  they  emigrated  to  Pennsyl- 
vania. For  more  than  a  century,  these  families  seemed  to  have 
kept  together  in  all  their  wanderings,  and  at  last  a  union  was 
formed  between  them  by  the  marriage  of  his  parents,  who  had 
been  some  time  settled  in  Virginia,  when  the  birth  of  the  sub- 
ject of  these  pages  took  place. 

His  father  was  a  man  of  moderate  fortune ;  indeed,  he 
seems  to  have  possessed  only  the  means  of  a  comfortable 
subsistence.  He  was  known  only  for  one  passion,  and  this 
was  for  a  military  life.  He  had  borne  his  part  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  was  successively  the  Inspector  of  Gen.  Bowyer's 
and  Gen.  Moore's  Brigades,  The  latter  post  he  held  till  his 
death,  which  took  place  in  1807,  while  he  was  on  a  tour  of 
inspection  among  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  He  was  a  man 
of  powerful  frame,  fine  bearing,  and  indomitable  courage. 
These  qualities  his  son  inherited,  and  they  were  the  only 
legacy  he  had  to  leave  him. 


HIS    MOTHER THR    FIELD-SCHOOL.  9 

His  mother  was  an  extraordinary  woman.  She  was  dis- 
tinguished by  a  full,  rather  tall,  and  matronly  form,  a  fine  car- 
riage, and  an  impressive  and  dignified  countenance.  She  was 
gifted  with  intellectual  and  moral  qualities,  which  elevated  her 
in  a  still  more  striking  manner  above  most  of  her  sex.  Her 
life  shone  with  purity  and  benevolence,  and  yet  she  was  nerved 
with  a  stern  fortitude  which  never  gave  way  in  the  midst  of 
the  wild  scenes  that  chequer  the  history  of  the  frontier  settler. 
Her  beneficence  was  universal,  and  her  name  was  called  with 
gratitude  by  the  poor  and  the  suffering.  Many  years  after- 
ward, her  son  returned  from  his  distant  exile  to  weep  by  her 
bed-side  when  she  came  to  die. 

Such  were  the  parents  of  this  Man.  Those  who  know  his 
history  will  not  be  astonished  to  find  that  they  were  of  that 
noble  race  which  first  subdued  the  wildness  of  Viririnia  and 
Tennessee  forests,  and  the  ferocity  of  their  savage  inhabitants. 
It  is  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  inquire,  what  were  the  means 
of  education  offered  to  this  Virginia  boy.  We  have  learned 
from  all  quarters,  that  he  never  could  be  got  into  a  school- 
house  till  he  was  eight  years  old,  nor  can  we  learn  that  he  ever 
accomplished  much  in  a  literary  way  after  he  did  enter.  Vir- 
ginia, which  has  never  become  very  famous  for  her  schools  at 
any  period,  had  still  less  to  boast  of  forty  years  ago.  The 
state  made  little  or  no  provision  by  law  for  the  education  of 
its  citizens,  and  each  neighborhood  was  obliged  to  take  care 
of  its  rising  population.  Long  before  this  period,  Washing- 
ton College  had  been  removed  to  Lexington,  and  a  Field 
School  was  kept  in  the  ruined  old  edifice  once  occupied  by 
that  institution.  This  school  seems,  from  all  accounts  (and  we 
have  taken  some  pains  to  inform  ourselves  about  this  matter), 
to  have  been  of  doubtful  utility.  He  is  said,  however,  to  have 
learned  to  read  and  write — to  have  gained  some  imperfect 
ideas  of  cyphering.  Late  in  the  fall  and  the  winter,  were  the 
only  seasons  he  was  allowed  to  improve  even  the  dubious  ad- 
vantages of  such  a  school.  The  rest  of  the  year  he  was  kept 
to  hard  work.  If  he  worked  very  well  he  was  sometimes  per- 
mitted to  run  home  from  the  fields  to  be  in  time  to  retain  his 


10  THE  HFROINE  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 

place  in  spelling.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  went  to  such 
a  school  more  than  six  months  in  all,  till  the  death  of  his 
father,  which  took  place  when  he  was  thirteen  years  old.  This 
event  changed  at  once  the  fortunes  of  the  family.  They  had 
been  mahitained  in  comfortable  circumstances,  chiefly  through 
the  exertions  of  the  father,  and  now  they  were  to  seek  for 
other  reliances. 

Mrs.  Houston  was  left  with  the  heavy  burden  of  a  nu- 
merous family.  She  had  six  sons  and  three  daughters.  But 
she  was  not  a  woman  to  succumb  to  misfortune,  and  she 
immediately  sold  out  the  homestead  and  prepared  to  cross  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  and  find  a  new  home  on  the  fertile 
banks  of  the  Tennessee  River.  Those  of  our  readers  who 
live  in  the  midst  of  a  crowded  population,  surrounded  by 
aU  that  embellishes  civilized  life,  may  be  struck  with  the 
heroism  of  a  Virginia  woman  who,  forty  years  ago,  took  up 
her  journey  through  those  unpeopled  regions  ;  and  yet  few  of 
them  can  have  any  adequate  conception  of  the  hardships  such 
a  heroine  had  to  encounter.  We  hope  the  day  may  come 
when  our  young  authors  will  stop  writing  and  dreaming  about 
European  castles,  with  their  crazy  knights  and  lady-loves,  and 
hunting  through  the  mummy-haunted  halls  of  the  pyramids, 
and  set  themselves  to  work  to  glean  the  unwritten  legends  of 
heroism  and  adventure,  which  the  old  men  would  tell  them, 
who  are  now  smoking  their  pipes  around  the  roof-trees  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

There  is  room  for  the  imagination  to  play  around  the  toil- 
some path  of  this  widow  and  her  children,  as  she  pushed  her 
adventurous  way  to  her  forest  home.  Some  facts,  too,  of  wild 
interest  are  in  our  possession — but  we  shall  hurry  on  with  our 
story,  for,  if  we  mistake  not,  our  readers  will  find  romance 
enough  in  this  history  to  satisfy  the  wildest  fancy. 

Fired  still  with  the  same  heroic  spirit  which  first  led  them  to 
try  the  woods,  our  daring  little  party  stopped  not  till  they 
reached  the  limits  of  the  emigration  of  those  days.  They 
halted  eight  miles  from  the  Tennessee  river,  which  was  then 
the  boundary  between  white  men  and  the  Cherokee  Indians. 


THE    ACADEMY    AND    POPe's    ILIAD.  11 

Young  Houston  was  now  set  to  work  with  the  rest  of  the 
family  in  breaking  up  the  virgin  soil,  and  providing  the  means 
of  subsistence.  There  seems  to  have  been  very  little  fancy 
in  his  occupations  now  for  some  time ;  he  became  better 
acquainted  than  ever  with  what  is  called  hard  work, — a  term 
which  has  a  similar  signification  in  all  the  languages  and 
countries  we  happen  to  be  acquainted  with. 

There  was  an   academy  established  in   that  part  of  East 
Tennessee  about  this  time,  and  he  went  to  it  for  a  while,  just 
after  Hon.  Mr.  Jarnagin,  who  now  represents  his   State  in  the 
U.  S.  Senate,  had  left  it.    He  had  got  possession,  in  some  way, 
of  two  or  three  books,  which  had  a  great  power  over  his  ima- 
gination.    No  boy  ever  reads  well  till  he  feels  a  thirst  for  intel- 
ligence, and  no  surer  indication  is  needed  that  this  period  has 
come,  than  to  see  the  mind  directed  towards  those  gigantic 
heroes  who  rise  like  spectres  from  the  ruins  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  towering  high  and  clear  above  the  darkness  and  gloom 
of  the   Middle   Ages.     He   had,  among  other  works.  Pope's 
Iliad,  which  he  read  so  constantly,  we  have  been  assured  on 
the   most  reliable   authority,  he  could  repeat  it  almost  entire 
from  beginning    to    end.     His    imagination    was    now   fully 
awakened,  and  his  emulation  began  to  be  stirred.     Reading 
translations  from  Latin  and  Greek  soon  kindled  his  desire  to 
study  those  primal  languages ;  and  so  decided  did  this   pro- 
pensity become,  that  on  being  refused  when  he  asked  the  mas- 
ter's permission,  he  turned  on  his  heel,  and  declared  solemnly 
that  he  would  never  recite  another  lesson  of  any  other  kind 
while  he  lived — and  from  vv^hat  we  have  been  able  to  learn  of 
his  history,  we  think  it  very  probable  that  he  kept  his  word 
most  sacredly !     But  he  had  gathered  from  the  classic  world 
more  through  Pope's  Iliad  than  many  a  ghostly  book-worm, 
who  has  read  Euripides  or^schylus  among  the  solemn  ruins 
of  the  Portico  itself.     He  had  caught  "  the  wonted  fire"  that 
still  "  lives  in  the  ashes"  of  their  heroes,  and  his  future  life  was 
to  furnish  the  materials  of  an  epic  more  wondrous  than  many 
a  man's  whose  name  has  become  immortal. 

His  eider  brothers  seem  to  have  crossed  his  wishes  occasion- 


12  LIFE    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

ally,  and  by  a  sort  of  fraternal  tyranny  quite  common,  exer- 
cised over  him  some  severe  restraints.  At  last  they  compelled 
him  to  go  into  a  merchant's  store,  and  stand  behind  the  coun- 
ter. This  kind  of  life  he  had  little  relish  for,  and  he  suddenly 
disappeared.  A  great  search  was  made  for  him,  but  he  was 
nowhere  to  be  found  for  several  weeks.  At  last  intelligence 
reached  the  family  that  Sara  had  crossed  the  Tennessee  river, 
and  gone  to  live  among  the  Indians,  where,  from  all  accounts, 
he  seemed  to  be  living  much  more  to  his  liking.  They  found 
him,  and  began  to  question  him  on  the  motives  for  this  novel 
proceeding.  Sam  was  now,  although  so  very  young,  nearly 
six  feet  high,  and  standing  straight  as  an  Indian,  coolly  replied 
that  "  he  preferred  measuring  deer  tracks  to  tape — that  he 
liked  the  wild  liberty  of  the  red  men  better  than  the  tyranny  of 
his  own  brothers,  and  if  he  could  not  study  Latin  in  the 
academy,  he  could,  at  least,  read  a  translation  from  the  Greek 
in  the  woods,  and  read  it  in  peace.  So  they  could  go  home 
as  soon  as  they  liked." 

His  family,  however,  thinking  this  a  freak  from  which  he 
would  soon  recover  when  he  got  tired  of  the  Indians,  gave 
themselves  no  great  uneasiness  about  him.  But  week  after 
week  passed  away,  and  Sam  did  not  make  his  appearance. 
At  last  his  clothes  were  worn  out,  and  he  returned  to  be 
refitted.  He  was  kindly  received  by  his  mother,  and  for  awhile 
his  brothers  treated  him  with  due  propriety.  But  the  first  act 
of  tyranny  they  showed  drove  him  to  the  woods  again,  where 
he  passed  entire  months  with  his  Indian  mates,  chasing  the 
deer  through  the  forest  with  a  fleetness  little  short  of  their  own, 
engaging  in  all  those  gay  sports  of  the  happy  Indian  boys,  and 
wandering  along  the  banks  of  the  streams  by  the  side  of  some 
Indian  maiden,  sheltered  by  the  deep  woods,  conversing  in 
that  universal  language  which  finds  its  sure  way  to  the  heart. 
From  a  strange  source  we  have  learned  much  of  his  Indian 
history  during  these  three  or  four  years,  and  in  the  absence  of 
facts  it  would  be  no  difficult  matter  to  fancy  what  must  have 
been  his  occupations.  It  was  the  moulding  period  of  life, 
when  the  heart,  just  charmed  into  the  fevered  hopes  and  dreams 


THE    ROMANCE    OF    YOUTH.  13 

of  youth,  looks  wistfully  around  on  all  things  for  light  and 
beauty — "  when  every  idea  of  gratification  fires  the  blood  and 
flashes  on  the  fancy — when  the  heart  is  vacant  to  every  fresh 
form  of  delight,  and  has  no  rival  engagements  to  withdraw  it 
from  the  importunities  of  a  new  desire."  The  poets  of 
Europe,  in  fancying  such  scenes,  have  borrowed  their  sweetest 
images  from  the  wild  idolatry  of  the  Indian  maiden.  Hous- 
ton has  since  seen  nearly  all  there  is  in  life  to  live  for,  and  yet 
he  has  been  heard  to  say  that,  as  he  looks  back  over  the  waste 
of  life,  there's  nothing  half  so  sweet  to  remember  as  this 
sojourn  he  made  among  the  untutored  children  of  the  forest. 

And  yet  this  running  wild  among  the  Indians,  sleeping  on 
the  ground,  chasing  wild  game,  making  love  to  Indian  maid- 
ens, and  reading  Homer's  Iliad  withal,  seemed  a  pretty  strange 
business,  and  people  used  to  say  that  Sam  Houston  would 
either  be  a  great  Indian  chief,  or  die  in  a  mad-house,  or  be 
Governor  of  the  State — for  it  was  very  certain  that  some 
dreadful  thing  would  overtake  him  ! 

Well,  it  may  have  been  doubtful,  and  it  was  for  a  long 
time,  what  all  this  would  end  in.  But  the  mystery  has  cleared 
away,  somewhat,  since  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto.  Certain  it  is 
that  his  early  life  among  the  Indians  was,  as  the  event  proved, 
a  necessary  portion  of  that  wonderful  training  that  fitted  him 
for  his  strange  destiny.  There  it  was  he  became  initiated  into 
the  profound  mysteries  of  the  red  man's  character,  and  a  taste 
was  formed  for  wild  forest  life,  which  made  him,  many  years 
after,  abandon  once  more  the  habitations  of  civilized  men, 
with  their  coldness,  their  treachery,  and  their  vices,  and  pass 
years  among  the  children  of  the  Great  Spirit,  till  he  finally  led 
the  way  to  the  achievement  of  the  independence  of  a  great 
domain  and  the  consolidation  of  a  powerful  Commonwealth. 

Guided  by  a  wisdom  all  His  own,  the  Ruler  of  Nations  led 
him  by  an  unknown  path,  and  his  wild  history  reminds  us  of 
the  story  of  Romulus,  who  was  nurtured  by  the  beasts  of  the 
forest  till  he  planted  the  foundation  of  a  mighty  empire. 
With  the  history  of  the  Father  of  Rome,  the  pen  of  poets  has 
played — and  it  would  seem,  after  all,  to  have  been  but  a  pro- 


14  MEETING    WITH    INDIAN    CHIEFTAINS. 

phecy  in  fable,  whose  fulfilment  the  world  has  waited  for  till 
our  days.  Certain  it  is,  too,  that  no  man  has  ever  lived  on  this 
continent  (whose  history  we  know)  who  has  had  so  complete 
a  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character — none  who  oould  sway 
so  powerful  a  control  over  the  savage  mind.  During  his  en- 
tire administration  of  the  Government  of  Texas,  not  an  Indian 
tribe  violated  a  treaty  with  the  Republic  ;  and  it  is  nearly  as 
safe  to  say,  that  during  the  administration  of  others,  not  a 
tribe  was  known  to  make  or  regard  one. 

During  the  latter  part  of  June  (just  past),  General  More- 
head  arrived  at  Washington  with  forty  wild  Indians  from  Texas 
— belonging  to  more  than  a  dozen  tribes.  We  saw  their 
3meeting  with  Gen.  Houston.  One  and  all  ran  to  him  and 
clasped  him  in  their  brawny  arms,  and  hugged  him  like  bears  to 
their  naked  breasts,  and  called  him  Father — beneath  the  cop- 
per skin  and  thick  paint,  the  blood  rushed,  and  their  faces 
changed,  and  the  lip  of  many  a  warrior  trembled,  although  the 
Indian  may  not  weep.  These  wild  men  knew  him  and  rever- 
ed him  as  one  who  was  too  directly  descended  from  the  Great 
Spirit,  to  be  approached  with  familiarity,  and  yet  they  loved 
him  so  well  they  could  not  help  it.  These  were  the  men  "he 
had  been,"  in  the  fine  language  of  Acquiquosk,  whose  words 
we  quote,  "  too  subtle  for,  on  the  war  path — too  powerful  in 
battle,  too  magnanimous  in  victory,  too  wise  in  council,  and 
too  true  in  faith."  They  had  flung  away  their  arms  in  Texas, 
and  with  the  Comanche  Chief  who  headed  iheir  file,  they  had 
come  to  Washington  to  see  their  Father.  I  said  these  iron 
warriors  shed  no  tears,  when  they  met  their  old  friend — but 
white  men  who  stood  by  will  tell  us  what  they  did.  We 
were  there,  and  we  have  witnessed  few  scenes  in  which  min- 
gled more  of  what  is  called  the  moral  sublime.  In  the  gigan- 
tic form  of  Houston,  on  whose  ample  brow  the  beneficent  love 
of  a  father  was  struggling  with  the  sternness  of  the  patriarch 
warrior,  we  saw  civilisation  awing  the  savage  at  its  feet.  We 
needed  no  interpreter  to  tell  us  that  this  impressive  supremacy 
was  gained  in  the  forest. 

But  we  have  quite  lost  the  thread  of  our  story.     This  wild 


KEEPS    SCHOOL ENLISTS    IN    THE    ARMY.  15 

life  among  the  Indians  lasted  till  his  eighteenth  year.  He  had, 
during  his  visits  once  or  twice  a  year  to  his  family,  to  be  refitted 
in  his  dress,  purchased  many  little  articles  of  taste  or  utility  to 
use  among  the  Indians.  In  this  manner,  he  had  incurred  a 
debt  which  he  was  bound  in  honor  to  pay.  To  meet  this  en- 
gagement, he  had  no  other  resource  left  but  to  abandon  his 
"  dusky  companions,"  and  teach  the  children  of  pale-faces. 
As  may  naturally  be  supposed,  it  was  no  easy  matter  for  him 
to  get  a  school,  and  on  the  first  start,  the  enterprise  moved 
very  slowly.  But  as  the  idea  of  abandoning  anything  on 
which  he  had  once  fixed  his  purpose,  was  no  part  of  his 
character,  he  persevered,  and  in  a  short  time  he  had  more  scho- 
lars to  turn  away,  than  he  had  at  first  to  begin  with.  He  was 
also  paid  what  was  considered  an  exorbitant  price.  Formerly, 
no  master  had  hinted  above  $6  per  annum.  Houston,  who 
probably  thought  that  one  who  had  been  graduated  at  an  In- 
dian university  ought  to  hold  his  lore  at  a  dearer  rate,  raised 
the  price  to  $8 — one-third  to  be  paid  in  corn,  delivered  at  the 
mill,  at  33^  cents  per  bushel — ^one-third  in  cash,  and  one-third 
in  domestic  cotton  cloth,  of  variegated  colors,  in  which  our  In- 
dian Professor  was  dressed.  He  also  wore  his  hair  behind,  in 
a  snug  queue,  and  is  said  to  have  been  very  much  in  love  with  it, 
probably  from  an  idea  that  it  added  somewhat  to  the  adornment 
of  his  person — in  which,  too,  he  probably  was  sadly  mistaken. 

When  he  had  made  money  enough  to  pay  his  debts,  he 
shut  up  his  school,  and  went  back  to  his  old  master,  to  study. 
He  put  Euclid  into  his  hands.  He  carried  that  ugly,  unro- 
mantic  book  back  and  forth  to  and  from  the  school  a  few  days, 
without  trying  to  solve  even  so  much  as  the  first  problem,  and 
then  he  came  to  the  very  sensible  conclusion,  that  he  would 
never  try  to  be  a  scholar !  This  was  in  1813.  But  fortunately 
an  event  now  took  place  which  was  to  decide  his  fate. 

The  bugle  had  sounded,  and  for  the  second  time,  America 
was  summoned  to  measure  her  strength  with  the  Mistress  of 
the  Seas.  A  recruiting  party  of  the  United  States  Army  came 
to  Maryville,  with  music,  a  banner,  and  some  well-dressed  ser- 
geants.    Of  course,  young  Houston  enlisted — anybody  could 


16  PARTS    WITH    HI3    MOTHER    AND    MARCHES. 

have  guessed  as  much.  His  friends  said  he  was  ruined — that 
he  must  by  no  means  join  the  army  as  a  common  soldier. 
He  then  made  his  first  speech,  as  far  as  we  can  learn  : — "  And 
what  have  your  craven  souls  to  say  about  the  ranks  ? — Go  to 

with  your  stuff;  I  would  much  sooner  honor  the  ranks, 

than  disgrace  an  appointment.  You  don't  know  me  now,  but 
you  shall  hear  of  me." 

His  old  friends  and  acquaintances,  considering  him  hopeless- 
ly di.5graced,  cut  his  acquaintance  at  once.  His  mother  gave 
her  consent,  standing  tall  and  matronly  in  the  door  of  her  cot- 
tage, as  she  handed  her  boy  the  musket :  "  There,  my  son, 
take  this  musTvCt,"  she  said,  "  and  never  disgrace  it:  for  remem- 
ber, I  had  rather  all  my  sons  should  fill  one  honorable  grave, 
than  that  one  of  them  should  turn  his  back  to  save  his  life. 
Go,  and  remember,  too,  that  while  the  door  of  my  cottage  is 
open  to  brave  men,  it  is  eternally  shut  against  cowards." 

He  marched  off.  He  was  soon  promoted  to  a  sergeant.  In 
a  short  time  he  became  the  best  drill  in  the  regiment; — soon 
after,  he  was  marched  to  Fort  Hampton,  at  the  head  of  the 
Muscle  Shoals,  in  Alabama,  where  he  was  promoted  to  an  En- 
sign. Returned  to  Knoxville — assisted  in  drilling  and  organiz- 
ing the  Eastern  Battalion  of  the  39th  Regiment  of  Infantry ; 
and  from  thence  marched  to  the  Ten  Islands,  where  he  remained 
encamped  for  some  time.  The  line  of  march  was  then  taken 
up  for  Fort  Williams.  The  Regiment  descended  the  Coosa, 
and  marched  for  To-Ho-Pe-Ka,  on  the  Horse-Shoe,  where  some 
events  took  place,  deserving  a  more  minute  relation. 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE   SOLDIER. 


Most  of  our  readers  are  doubtless  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  great  battle  of  the  Horse-Shoe.  An  undecisive  strug- 
gle had  for  along  time  been  carried  on  with  the  Creek  Indians, 
who  had  avoided  the  hazards  of  open  warfare,  hoping  at  last,  by 
forest  ambuscades  and  stealthy  eruptions,  to  weary  out  a  foe  they 
did  not  dare  to  meet  in  a  general  engagement.  But  this  kind  of 
warfare  was  soon  to  be  brought  to  an  end.  They  had  a  foe 
to  contend  with,  who  out-matched  them  in  subtlety,  and  all  the 
daring  impetuosity  of  his  nature  was  bent  upon  their  destruc- 
tion. 

General  Jackson's  army  encamped  at  Fort  Williams,  now 
amounted  to  more  than  two  thousand  men,  and  his  spies  were 
scattered  far  and  wide  through  the  forests.  Retreating  from 
village  to  village  and  point  to  point,  the  enemy  had  gathered 
all  their  effective  force  on  a  bend  of  the  Tallapoosa,  where  a 
thousand  warriors — the  chivalry  of  the  Creek  Nation — follow- 
ing the  guidings  of  their  prophets,  had  taken  their  last  stand, 
resolved  to  risk  all  upon  a  single  struggle.  This  bend,  which 
they  called  To-ho-pe-ka,  or  the  Horse-Shoe,  is  accurately  de- 
scribed by  its  name.  It  is  a  peninsula  of  about  one  hundred 
acres  of  land,  opening  on  the  north,  where  it  was  protected  by 
a  massive  breast-work,  reaching  down  to  the  river  on  both 
sides,  composed  of  three  tiers  of  heavy  pine  logs,  with  two 
rows  of  skilfully  arranged  port-holes. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  March  Gen.  Jackson  reached 
the  Horse-Shoe,  and  immediately  prepared  for  action.  In  a 
few  hours,  by  a  masterly  arrangement  of  his  forces,  he  had 
completely  invested  the  peninsula.  Gen.  Coffee  had,  early  in 
the  morning,  crossed  the  river  at  a  ford  two  miles  below,  with  a 
body  of  mounted  men  and  nearly  all  the  force  of  friendly  In- 
dians, serving  under  Gen.  Jackson,  and  at  ten  o'clock  he  had 


a 
2 


^^  '^''*<*^..-..^ 


A.  Branches'  Reg't.      ^ 

B.  39th  Regiment. 

C.  Militia. 

DD.  Russell's  Spies. 
EE.  Coffee's  command. 
F.  &  G.  Friendly  Indians. 


H.  Women  &  children, 
J  J.  Creek  Warriors. 
KK.  Breast  Work- 
L.  Cabins. 
M.  Covered  Ravine, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  HORSE-SHOE.  19 

Irawn  up  his  lines  on  the  south  of  the  bend,  cutting  off  all 
escape  from  three  sides  of  the  peninsula.  In  the  meantime, 
the  General  had  advanced  towards  the  north  side  of  the  bend, 
\vith  the  main  army,  and  drawing  up  his  lines,  he  ordered  the 
iwo  pieces  of  artillery  to  play  upon  the  Indian  breast-works. 
The  first  gun  was  fired  at  about  half-past  ten  o'clock,  and  a 
brisk  fire  maintained  till  nearly  one,  apparently  without  much 
effect,  the  small  cannon  shot  playing  almost  harmlessly  against 
massive  timbers.  No  opportunity  had  yet  been  given  to 
the  main  army  to  show  their  valor ;  but  a  rattle  of  musketry 
mingling  with  the  sharp  crack  of  a  hundred  rifles,  was  heard, 
and  a  heavy  column  of  smoke  came  rolling  up  from  the 
southern  part  of  the  peninsula. 

The  Cherokees,  under  Gen.  Coffee,  had  discovered  a  line  of 
canoes  half  concealed  by  the  bushes  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  they  swam  the  stream  and  brought  them 
across.  Richard  Brown,  their  gallant  chief,  leaped  into  a  canoe, 
followed  by  his  brave  Cherokees,  and  with  Capt.  Russell's  com- 
panies of  spies  crossed  the  river.  They  first  set  fire  to  the 
cluster  of  wigwams  near  the  shore,  and,  as  the  smoke  rose  over 
them,  advanced  upon  the  rear  of  a  thousand  warriors  who 
were  sheltered  from  the  artillery  on  the  north. 

When  Gen.  Jackson's  troops  heard  the  firing  and  saw  the 
smoke,  they  knew  that  their  companions  had  crossed  the  river, 
and  they  were  impatient  to  storm  the  breast-works.  But  the 
General  held  them  steady  in  their  lines  till  he  had  sent  an  in- 
terpreter to  remove  all  the  women  and  children  in  the  penin- 
sula, amounting  to  several  hundreds,  to  a  safe  place  beyond 
the  river.  The  moment  this  was  efl'ccted,  he  gave  an  order  to 
storm  the  breast-works.  The  order  was  received  with  a  shout, 
and  the  39th  Regiment  under  Col.  Williams,  and  Gen.  Doher- 
ty's  brigade  of  East  Tennesseeans,  rushed  up  with  loud  cries 
to  the  breast-work,  where  a  short  but  bloody  struggle  followed 
at  the  port-holes,  bayonet  to  bayonet  and  muzzle  to  muzzle. 
Major  Montgomery  was  the  first  man  to  spring  upon  the 
breast-works,  but  a  ball  in  the  head  hurled  him  back.  About 
the  same  instant,  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  39th  Regiment, 


20  THE    soldier's    FIRST    WOUxXD. 

Ensign  Houston  scaled  the  breast-works,  calling  out  to  his 
brave  fellows  to  follow  him  as  he  leaped  down  among  the  In- 
dians cutting  his  way. 

While  he  was  scaling  the  works,  or  soon  after  he  reached  the 
ground,  a  barbed  arrow  struck  deep  into  his  thigh.  He  kept 
las  ground  for  a  moment  till  his  lieutenant  and  men  were  by 
his  side,  and  the  warriors  had  begun  to  recoil  under  their  despe- 
rate onset.  He  then  called  to  his  lieutenant  to  extract  the  arrow, 
after  he  had  tried  in  vain  to  do  it  himself.  The  officer  made 
two  unsuccessful  attempts  and  failed — "  Try  again,"  said 
Houston,  the  sword  with  which  he  was  still  keeping  the  com- 
mand raised  over  his  head,  "  and  if  you  fail  this  time  I  will 
smite  you  to  the  earth."  With  a  desperate  effort  he  drew  forth 
the  arrow,  tearing  the  flesh  as  it  came.  A  stream  of  blood 
rushed  from  the  place,  and  Houston  crossed  the  breast-works 
to  have  his  wounds  dressed.  The  surgeon  bound  it  up  and 
staunched  the  blood,  and  Gen.  Jackson,  who  came  up  to  see 
who  had  been  wounded,  recognizing  his  young  ensign,  ordered 
him  firmly  not  to  return.  Under  any  other  circumstances 
Houston  would  have  obeyed  any  order  from  the  brave  man 
who  stood  over  him,  but  now  he  begged  the  general  to  allow 
him  to  return  to  his  men.  Gen.  Jackson  ordered  him  most 
peremptorily  not  to  cross  the  breast- works  again.  But  Hous- 
ton was  determined  to  die  in  that  battle  or  win  the  fame  of  a 
hero.  He  remembered  how  the  finger  of  scorn  had  been 
pointed  at  him  as  he  fell  into  the  ranks  of  the  recruiting  party 
that  marched  through  the  village,  and  rushing  once  more  to 
the  breast-works,  he  was  in  a  few  seconds  at  the  head  of  his 
men. 

The  action  had  now  become  general,  and  more  than  two 
thousand  men  were  struggling  hand  to  hand.  Arrows  and 
spears  and  balls  were  flying,  swords  and  tomahawks  were 
gleaming  in  the  sun,  and  the  whole  peninsula  rang  with  the 
yell  of  the  savage,  and  the  gi'oans  of  the  dying. 

The  thousand  warriors  who  had  gathered  there  that  day 
were  chosen  men.  A  brother  of  Tecumseh  had  some  months 
before  visited  all  the  villages  of  the  Creek  nation  and  stirred 


THE    SIGNAL    FUO.M    HEAVEN.  21 

up  their  passions  for  blood  and  revenge,  proclaiming  to  their 
prophets  that  the  voice  of  the  Great  Spirit  had  called  him  to 
go  on  the  mission,  and  that  the  flower  of  their  people  must 
assemble  to  give  battle  to  the  pale  faces,  and  the  day  should  be 
crowned  with  the  final  destruction  of  their  foes.  There  was 
in  this  strange  mission  enough  of  mystery  to  inflame  all  the 
superstition  and  malignity  of  the  nation,  and  following  their 
prophets,  they  had  at  last  met  the  pale  faces  on  the  day  that 
would  give  victory  to  their  people.  The  day  of  the  battle  had 
come,  and  warriors  by  hundreds  were  falling ;  but  they  were 
firm  in  the  belief  of  their  prophets,  who  still  proclaimed 
that  they  should  win  the  day.  The  Great  Spirit,  they  said, 
would  sweep  their  enemies  away  with  a  storm  of  wrath,  and 
his  signal  should  be  a  cloud  from  heaven.  And  it  is  proper 
to  add,  that  when  the  struggle  was  decided,  and  the  command- 
er-in-chief was  issuing  an  order  to  stop  the  carnage,  and  had 
sent  an  interpreter  to  tell  the  foe  their  lives  should  be  spared  if 
they  would  surrender,  a  cloud  suddenly  overspread  the  sky. 
The  superstitious  warriors,  believing  it  the  signal  of  their  pro- 
mised redemption,  fired  upon  the  interpreter  after  his  message 
was  delivered,  and  again  the  action  began. 

But  the  eagerly-watched  signal  ended  in  a  quiet  April 
shower,  and  no  deliverance  came  to  the  brave,  but  devoted 
people.  Not  a  warrior  offered  to  surrender,  even  while  the 
sword  was  at  his  breast.  Hundreds  had  already  fallen,  and 
were  weltering  in  their  gore — multitudes  of  others  had  been 
shot  or  drowned,  in  attempting  to  swim  the  river — the  ground 
of  the  peninsula  was  covered  only  with  the  dead  and  dying, 
and  the  battle  was  supposed  to  be  over.  To  the  last  moment, 
the  old  prophets  stood  firm,  and  gazed  up  towards  the  sky ; 
around  them  warriors  clustered,  feeling  to  the  very  last  mo- 
ment that  relief  would  come.  Hope  expired  only  with  the 
expiring  groan  of  the  last  prophet,  and  the  warrior  who  gasped 
at  his  side. 

But  the  victory  was  still  incomplete — the  work  of  slaughter 
was  not  yet  done.  A  large  party  of  Indians  had  secreted 
themselves  in  a  part  of  the  breast-works,  constructed  over  a 


22  Houston's  second  wound. 

ravine  in  the  form  of  the  roof  of  a  house,  with  narrow  port- 
holes, from  which  a  murderous  fire  could  be  kept  up,  when- 
ever the  assailants  should  show  themselves.  Here  the  last 
remnant  of  the  Creek  warriors  of  the  peninsula  was  gathered, 
and  as  the  artillery  could  not  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
place,  they  could  be  dislodged  only  by  a  bold  charge,  which 
would  probably  cost  the  life  of  the  brave  men  who  made  it. 

An  offer  of  life,  if  they  would  surrender,  had  been  rejected 
with  scorn  by  these  brave,  desperate  savages,  which  sealed 
their  fate.  General  Jackson  now  called  for  a  body  of  men  to 
make  the  charge.  As  there  was  no  order  given,  the  lines 
stood  still,  and  not  an  officer  volunteered  to  lead  the  forlorn 
hope.  Supposing  some  captain  would  lead  forward  his  com- 
pany, Houston  would  wait  no  longer.  Calling  on  his  platoon 
to  follow  him,  he  dashed  down  the  precipitous  descent  to- 
wards the  covered  ravine.  But  his  men  hesitated.  With  a 
desperation  which  belongs  only  to  such  occasions,  he  seized 
a  musket  from  one  of  his  men,  and,  leading  the  way,  ordered 
the  rest  to  follow  him.  There  was  but  one  way  of  attack  that 
could  prevail — it  was  to  charge  through  the  port-holes,  although 
they  were  bristling  with  rifles  and  arrows,  and  it  had  to  be 
done  by  a  rapid,  simultaneous  plunge.  As  he  was  stopping  to 
rally  his  men,  and  had  levelled  his  musket,  within  five  yards 
of  the  port-holes,  he  received  two  rifle-balls  in  his  right  shoul- 
der, and  his  arm  fell  shattered  to  his  side.  Totally  disabled, 
he  turned  and  called  once  more  to  his  men,  and  implored 
them  to  make  the  charge.  But  they  did  not  advance.  Hous- 
ton stood  in  his  blood  till  he  saw  it  would  do  no  good  to  stand 
any  longer,  and  then  went  beyond  the  range  of  the  bullets,  and 
sank  down  exhausted  to  the  earth.  The  Indians  were  at  last 
dislodged  from  the  covered  ravine  by  its  being  set  on  fire. 
The  sun  was  going  down,  and  it  set  over  the  ruin  of  the 
Creek  nation.  Where,  but  a  few  hours  before,  a  thousand 
brave  savages  had  scowled  on  death  and  their  assailants,  there 
was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  volumes  of  dense  smoke,  rising 
heavily  over  the  corpses  of  painted  warriors,  and  the  burning 
ruins  of  their  fortifications. 


THE    WOUNDED    SOLDIER.  23 

After  all  the  perils  of  this  hard-fought  engagement,  in  which 
he  had  displayed  a  heroism  that  excited  the  admiration  of  the 
entire  army,  and  received  wounds  which  are  to  this  day  un- 
healed, he  was  taken  from  the  field  of  the  dead  and  wounded, 
and  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  surgeon.  One  ball  was 
extracted,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  extract  the  other,  for 
the  surgeon  said  it  was  unnecessary  to  torture  him,  since  he 
could  not  survive  till  the  next  morning.  He  spent  the  night 
as  soldiers  do,  who  war  in  the  wilderness,  and  carry  provisions 
in  their  knapsacks  for  a  week's  march.  Comforts  were  out  of 
the  question  for  all ;  but  Houston  received  less  attention  than 
the  others,  for  everybody  looked  on  him  as  a  dying  man,  and 
what  could  be  done  for  any,  they  felt  should  be  done  for  those 
who  were  likely  to  live.  It  was  the  darkest  night  of  his  life, 
and  it  closed  in  upon  the  most  brilliant  day  he  had  yet  seen. 
We  can  fancy  to  ourselves  what  must  have  been  the  feelings 
of  the  young  soldier,  as  he  lay  on  the  damp  earth,  through  the 
hours  of  that  dreary  night,  racked  with  the  keen  torture  of  his 
many  wounds,  and  deserted  in  what  he  supposed  was  his 
dying  hour. 

But  God,  whose  mysterious  Providence  guides  its  chosen 
instruments  by  a  way  they  know  not,  had  yet  other  work  for 
him  to  do — he  was  yet  to  pass  through  many  scenes  of 
excitement  and  heroism  ;  and,  at  last,  to  lead  a  brave  band  of 
pioneers  triumphantly  through  all  their  struggles  and  suffer- 
ings to  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  a  free  commonwealth.  The 
military  prowess  and  heroism  Houston  displayed  throughout 
that  bloody  day,  secured  for  him  the  lasting  regard  of  General 
Jackson,  whose  sympathies  followed  him  through  all  his  for- 
tunes. More  than  thirty  years  after,  when  the  venerable  old 
Chief  was  trembling  on  the  verge  of  life,  looking  out  with  un- 
dimmed  cheerfulness  from  the  dark  inn  of  mortality  upon  the 
summer  path  of  light  that  opened  before  him,  he  sent  for  Ge- 
neral Houston  to  hurry  to  his  bed-side  to  see  him  die. 

On  the  following  day,  Houston  was  started  on  a  litter,  with 
the  other  wounded,  for  Fort  Williams,  some  60  or  70  miles 
distant.    Here  he  remained,  suspended  between  life  and  death, 


24  BORNE    ON    A    LITTER    TO    HIS    MOTHER's    HOUSE, 

for  a  long  time,  neglected  and  exposed,  the  other  regular  offi- 
cers of  the  regiment  having  all  been  removed  to  Fort  Jackson 
or  the  Hickory  Ground.  He  was  taken  care  of,  a  part  of  the 
time,  by  Gen.  Johnson,  father  of  the  present  Post-master 
General,  and  by  Col.  Cheatham,  and  by  them  at  last  brought 
back  to  the  Ten  Islands,  and  from  thence  by  Gen.  Dougherty, 
who  commanded  the  Brigade  from  East  Tennessee,  through 
the  Cherokee  Nation,  to  his  mother's  house  in  Blount  County, 
where  he  arrived  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  nearlv  two  months 
after  the  battle  of  the  Horse-Shoe. 

This  long  journey  was  made  in  a  litter,  borne  by  horses, 
while  he  was  not  only  helpless,  but  suffering  the  extremest 
agony.  His  diet  was  of  the  coarsest  description,  and  most  of 
the  time  he  was  not  only  deprived  of  medical  aid,  but  even  of 
those  simple  remedies  which  would  at  least  have  alleviated 
his  sufferings.  His  toilsome  way  was  through  the  forests, 
where  he  was  obliged  to  encamp  out,  and  often  without  shel- 
ter. No  one  around  him  had  any  expectation  he  would  ever 
recover.  At  last,  when  he  reached  the  house  of  his  mother, 
he  was  so  worn  to  a  skeleton,  that  she  declared  she  never 
would  have  known  him  to  be  her  son,  but  for  his  eyes,  which 
still  retained  something  of  their  wonted  expression. 

Under  the  hospitable  roof  of  that  cottage,  whose  "  door  was 
always  open  to  brave  men,"  he  languished  a  short  time,  and 
when  he  had  recovered  a  little  strength,  went  to  Maryville 
for  convenience  to  medical  aid.  Here  his  health  gradually 
declined,  and  in  quest  of  a  more  skilful  surgeon,  he  was  re- 
moved to  Knoxville,  16  miles  to  the  eastward.  The  physician 
to  whom  he  applied  found  him  in  so  low  a  state  that  he  was 
unwilling  to  take  charge  of  him,  for  he  declared  that  he  could 
only  live  a  few  days.  But  at  the  end  of  this  period,  finding 
he  had  not  only  survived,  but  begun  to  improve  a  little,  the 
doctor  offered  his  services,  and  he  seemed  to  be  slowly  reco- 
vering. 

When  he  had  become  strong  enough  to  ride  a  horse,  he  set 
out  by  short  journeys  for  Washington.  He  reached  the  seat 
of  Government  soon  after  the  burning  of  the  Capitol.      In 


VOYAGE    DOWN    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  25 

common  with  every  true  friend  of  his  country,  his  blood  boiled 
when  he  saw  the  ruin  that  heroic  people  had  worked,  and  he 
experienced  one  of  the  keenest  pangs  of  his  life,  in  the  thought 
that  his  right  arm  should  be  disabled  at  such  a  moment,  and 
while  the  foe  was  still  prowling  through  the  country.  Win- 
ter was  now  advancing,  and  with  his  wounds  still  festering,  he 
journeyed  on  to  Lexington,  Virginia,  where  he  remained  till 
early  spring. 

Having,  as  he  supposed,  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  able  to 
do  duty  as  a  soldier  in  some  situation,  he  prepared  to  cross 
the  Mountains.  When  he  reached  Knoxville,  on  his  way  to 
report  himself  ready  for  duty,  he  heard  the  glorious  news  of 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  His  furlough  had  been  unlim- 
ited. 

After  peace  was  proclaimed,  he  was  stationed  at  the  canton- 
ment of  his  regiment,  near  Knoxville,  and  when  the  army  was 
reduced,  he  was  retained  in  the  service  as  a  Lieutenant,  and 
attached  to  the  1st  Regt.  of  Infantry,  and  stationed  at  New 
Orleans. 

In  the  Fall,  he  had  embarked  on  the  Cumberland,  in  a  small 
skiff,  in  company  with  two  young  men,  one  of  whom  after- 
wards became  distinguished  as  Gov.  White,  of  Louisiana. 
He  was  then  a  beardless  boy,  just  leaving  college.  They 
passed  down  the  Cumberland,  entered  the  Ohio,  and  at  last 
found  their  way  to  the  Mississippi,  over  whose  mighty  waters 
they  floated  through  that  vast  solitude,  which  was  then  unbroken 
by  the  noise  of  civilized  life.  Our  voyager  had  with  him  a  few 
of  those  volumes  which  have  been  the  companions  of  so 
many  great  and  good  men  :  a  Bible,  given  to  him  by  his  mother, 
Pope's  translation  of  the  Iliad,  the  same  book  he  had  kept  by 
him  during  his  wild  life  among  the  Indians — Shakspeare, 
Akenside,  and  a  few  of  those  standard  works  of  fiction,  which, 
like  Robinson  Crusoe,  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  the  Vicar  of 
Wakefield,  have  become  a  part  of  the  history  of  every  man 
who  knows  how  to  read.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  ef- 
fect such  works  must  have  produced  upon  the  heated  imagi- 


26  TRAVELLING    IN    SEARCH    OF    HEALTH. 

nation  of  a  young  American  soldier,  voyaging  through  those 
impressive  solitudes. 

After  many  days  their  skiff  turned  a  bend  in  the  Mississippi, 
above  Natchez,  and  far  down  the  river  they  saw  a  vessel  com- 
ing up  the  stream  without  sails,  sending  up  a  heavy  column  of 
smoke.  Instead  of  being  a  vessel  on  fire,  as  they  at  first  sup- 
posed, it  turned  out  to  be  the  first  steamboat  that  ever  went  up 
the  Mississippi  river. 

At  Natchez  they  exchanged  their  skiff  for  the  steamboat, 
and  in  eight  days  they  reached  New  Orleans,  where  Houston 
reported  for  duty. 

He  now  had  his  wounds  operated  on  once  more,  and  the 
operation  nearly  cost  him  his  life.  The  rifle  balls,  after  shat- 
tering most  completely  his  right  arm  just  below  its  juncture 
with  the  shoulder,  had  passed  round  and  lodged  near  the 
shoulder-blade.  Nothing  but  an  iron  constitution  had  enabled 
him  to  endure  the  enormous  suffering  he  had  gone  through, 
and  the  operation  just  performed  had  well  nigh  robbed  him  of 
his  last  strength.  His  lungs  were  supposed,  moreover,  to  be 
irreparably  injured  ;  but  that  indomitable  resolution  which  has 
borne  him  triumphantly  through  all  the  struggles  of  his  stormy 
life,  never  gave  way. 

After  a  winter  of  extreme  suffering,  he  sailed  in  April  for 
New  York,  where  he  passed  several  weeks,  with  a  slight 
improvement  in  health.  Returning  to  Tennessee  by  the  way 
of  Washington,  after  visiting  his  friends,  he  reported  to  the 
Adjutant- General  of  the  Southern  Division,  at  Nashville,  and 
was  detailed  on  duty  in  the  Adjutant's  office,  and  stationed  at 
Nashville  from  the  1st  of  January,  1817.  He  was  attached  to 
the  office  till  the  following  November,  when  he  was  detailed 
on  extra  duty  as  a  Sub-Indian  agent  among  the  Cherokees,  to 
carry  out  the  treaty  just  ratified  with  that  nation.  His  feeble 
health  rendered  it  peculiarly  hazardous  to  encounter  the  expo- 
sures of  such  an  agency;  but  Gen.  Jackson  considered  it 
necessary  to  the  public  service  that  he  should  at  least  make  the 
attempt,  for  he  could  procure  the  services  of  no  one  in  whom 
he  could  repose  such  entire  confidence.     Accordingly,  Lieut. 


RESIGNS    HIS    COMMISSION    IN    THE    ARMY.  27 

Houston,  yielding  to  the  importunities  of  his  commander,  who, 
knowing  he  was  unfit  for  public  service,  offered  him  a  furlough 
if  he  should  decline  the  agency,  entered  upon  his  new  duties 
with  ardor,  and  discharged  them  with  marked  ability.  During 
that  same  winter  he  conducted  a  delegation  of  Indians  to 
Washington.  When  he  arrived  at  the  seat  of  government,  he 
found  that  attempts  had  been  made  to  injure  him  with  the 
government,  for  having  prevented  African  negroes  from  being 
smus^ded  into  the  Western  States  from  Florida,  which  was 
then  a  province  of  Spain.  These  reports  had  been  circulated 
by  the  friends  of  the  smugglers,  who  were  then  in  Congress. 

He  vindicated  himself  before  the  President  and  the  Secretary 
of  War,  and  showed  that  in  all  he  had  done,  he  had  only  endea- 
vored to  secure  respect  for  the  laws  of  the  country.  He  was  still 
to  show,  too,  most  conclusively,  that  while  he  had  been  occupied 
laboriously  in  his  new  and  difficult  mission,  which  he  had,  as 
was  confessed  on  all  hands,  discharged  with  singular  ability, 
he  had  been  suffering  without  respite  from  his  painful  wounds 
received  in  the  service  of  his  country.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
General  Jackson,  and  all  who  understood  Houston's  position 
and  services  at  the  time,  that  he  was  not  only  entitled  to  a  full 
and  ample  exculpation  from  all  blame  (which  was  indeed  ac- 
corded to  him),  but  had  a  right  to  expect  that  his  magnani- 
mous sacrifices  for  the  State  should  have  met  with  a  warmer 
recognition.  But  he  considered  himself  slighted  at  the  time,  and 
he  resigned  his  First  Lieutenantcy  in  the  army, — at  a  period, 
too,  when  his  health  rendered  it  exceedingly  doubtful  how  he 
was  to  gain  a  livelihood.  But  he  acted  on  the  principle  he 
has  so  often  illustrated,  that  no  man  should  be  an  almoner  upon 
the  bounty  of  a  State  who  cannot  bring  to  its  service  talents 
and  acquisitions  which  would  procure  higher  emoluments  in 
private  life.  He  returned  with  the  Delegation  to  the  agency 
on  Hi-Wassee,  and  then  resigned  his  commission  as  Sub- 
Agent,  and  went  to  Nashville  to  read  Law. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE     CIVILIAN, 


Houston  was  now  in  his  twenty-fifth  year.  He  had  played  an 
heroic  part  in  the  national  struggle  just  past, — he  had  become 
familiar  with  the  hardships  the  frontier  soldier  has  to  encounter, 
he  had  seen  the  treachery  and  the  coldness  of  artificial  life, 
and  he  had  passed  years  among  the  simple-hearted  but  stern 
children  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

With  a  mind  enriched  by  experience  and  observation,  and  a 
lofty  aspiration  for  enduring  fame,  he  abandoned  the  life  of 
the  soldier  to  pursue  the  calmer  path  of  the  civilian.  In  his 
wanderings  in  search  of  health,  his  pay  in  the  army  had  been 
inadequate  to  his  necessities,  and  he  found  himself  burdened 
down  by  a  load  of  debt.  Before  he  began  the  study  of  the  law, 
he  sold  the  last  piece  of  property  he  possessed,  and  appropriated 
the  last  farthing  of  the  avails  to  the  discharge  of  his  debts ;  but 
a  residuum  of  several  hundred  still  remained  unpaid — the  bal- 
ance, however,  was  soon  discharged. 

He  entered  the  oflSce  of  Hon.  James  Trimble,  who  told  him 
that  eighteen  months  of  hard  study  would  be  necessary  before 
he  could  be  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  began  his  studies  in  June, 
1818.  He  read  a  few  of  the  standard  works  prescribed  in  a 
course  of  law  studies,  and  read  them  thoroughly.  He  grasped 
the  great  principles  of  the  science,  and  they  were  fixed  in  his 
mind  for  ever.  There  is  a  class  of  men  who  are  made  up  like 
composite  architecture  of  the  details  of  beauty  stolen  from  primi- 
tive orders  ;  such  men  constitute  the  secondary  fonnations  of 
society,  but  the  intellectual  world,  like  the  frame  of  nature,  re- 
poses upon  nobler  and  more  massive  strata. 

Those  men  who  borrow  their  lights  from  others,  never  lead 
the  human  race  through  great  crises — those  who  depend  on  the 
strength  they  gather  from  books  or  men,  are  never  equal  to  lofty 
achievements.     The  minds  which  electrify  the  world  generate 


ADMISSION    TO    THE    BAR— PRACTICE.  29 

their  own  fire  ;  such  men  seldom  shine  in  details — they  have  no 
time  to  attend  to  them,  and  they  never  feel  the  loss  of  these 
secondary  lights.  The  bold  mariner  who  ventures  at  once  upon 
the  open  sea,  and  regulates  his  course  by  a  few  towering  head- 
lands and  solitary  lights  that  gleam  from  afar,  can  give  little 
information  to  the  coaster  about  the  tiny  bays  that  indent  the 
shore,  or  the  color  of  the  pebbles  that  glitter  on  the  beach. 
But  he  has  marked  on  his  chart  the  dangerous  reefs  and  the 
arreat  currents  of  the  ocean,  and  he  is  at  home  with  his  noble 
vessel  wherever  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars  shine. 

So  it  is  with  those  who  explore  the  fields  of  science.  Some 
men  cultivate  such  studies  only  to  amass  details,  to  use  on  ap- 
propriate occasions,  while  others  enter  them  on.ly  to  gather  gene- 
ral principles  which  have  a  universal  application ;  and  in  ap- 
proaching these  two  classes,  we  discover  as  grand  a  difference 
as  we  do  between  one  of  those  islands  of  the  Pacific  seas  newly 
formed  by  the  countless  animalculge  of  the  ocean,  and  the  bold 
brow  of  the  everlasting  mountain. 

We  have  used  these  illustrations  only  to  convey  more  per- 
fectly an  idea  of  Houston's  character.  His  teacher  had  pre- 
scribed eighteen  months  study.  In  om  third  of  the  time  he  was 
recommended  to  apply  for  license,  and  he  was  admitted  with 
eclat.  A  few  months'  study  had  enabled  him  to  pass  a  searching 
examination  with  great  honor  to  himself  and  his  new  profession. 
He  immediately  purchased  a  small  library  on  credit,  and  esta- 
blished himself  in  Lebanon,  thirty  miles  east  of  Nashville,  and 
began  the  practice  of  law.  Soon  after,  he  was  appointed  Adju- 
tant-General of  the  State,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  In  the 
meantime  he  followed  up  his  studies,  and  the  practice  of  his 
profession  with  earnestness,  and  so  rapidly  did  he  rise  at  the  bar, 
that  he  was,  in  October  of  the  same  year,  elected  District  Attor- 
ney of  the  Davidson  District,  which  made  it  desirable  he  should 
take  up  his  residence  at  Nashville. 

He  was  obliged  to  come  in  collision  with  all  the  talent  of  one 
of  the  ablest  bars  of  Western  America.  Every  step  he  trod  was 
new  to  him,  but  he  was  almost  universally  successful  in  prosecu- 
tions, and  his  seniors  who  rallied  him  upon  his  recent  advance- 
ment and  his  rawness  in  the  practice,  never  repeated  their  jokes. 


30     ELECTED  TO  CONGRESS GOVERNOR MARRIAGE. 

They  discovered  to  their  mortification  that  neither  many  books 
nor  much  dull  plodding  could  enable  them  to  measure  weapons 
with  a  man  so  gifted  in  rare  good  sense  and  penetrating  genius. 

We  have  taken  considerable  pains  to  render  ourselves  fami- 
liar with  the  various  steps  of  Houston's  advancement  till  he 
reached  the  highest  honors  of  the  State.  But  we  shall  be  obliged 
to  pass  rapidly  over  this  portion  of  his  history,  in  order  to  leave 
space  to  speak  more  minutely  of  his  subsequent  achievements. 
The  labors  of  the  District  Attorney  were  unceasing,  but  the 
fees  were  so  inconsiderable  he  resigned  his  post  at  the  end  of 
twelve  months,  and  resumed  the  regular  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, in  which  he  rose  to  great  and  sudden  distinction. 

In  1821  he  was  elected  Major-General  by  the  field  officers  of 
the  division,  which  comprised  two  thirds  of  the  State.  In  1823 
he  was  recommended  to  offer  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  Con- 
gress. In  the  various  official  stations  he  had  filled,  he  had  won 
so  much  respect,  and  at  the  bar  he  had  displayed  such  rare 
ability  that  he  was  elected  to  Congress  without  opposition. 
His  course  in  the  National  Legislature  was  warmly  approved  by 
his  constituents,  and  he  w^as  returned  the  second  time  by  an 
almost  unanimous  vote. 

His  course  in  Congress  won  for  him  the  universal  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  people  of  Tennessee,  and  in  1827  he  was 
elected  Governor  of  that  State  by  a  majority  of  over  12,000. 
His  personal  popularity  was  unlimited,  and  his  accession  to 
office  found  him  without  an  opponent  in  the  Legislature. 

In  January,  1S29,  he  married  a  young  lady  of  respectable 
family  and  of  gentle  character.  Owing  to  circumstances,  about 
which  far  more  has  been  conjectured  than  known  by  the  world, 
the  union  seems  to  have  been  as  unhappy  as  it  was  short.  In 
less  than  three  months  a  separation  took  place,  which  filled  so- 
ciety with  the  deepest  excitement.  Various  reports  flew  through 
the  state,  all  of  them  unfounded,  and  some  of  them  begotten  by 
the  sheerest  malignity,  which  divided  the  people  of  the  State 
into  two  hostile  parties,  and  inflamed  popular  feeling  to  the  last 
point  of  excitement.  As  usual  on  such  occasions,  those  who 
were  most  busy  in  the  affair  were  the  very  ones  who  knew  least 
about  the  merits  of  the  case,  and  had  the  least  right  to  interfere. 


SEPARATION    FROM    HIS    WIFE.  31 

But  unfortunately  for  the  peace  of  society,  there  is  everywhere 
a  class  of  impertinent  busy-bodies,  who  make  it  their  special 
business  to  superintend  and  pry  into  the  domestic  affairs  of  their 
neighbors ;  and  as  curiosity  must  be  gratified  at  any  expense  to 
private  character,  and  such  persons  always  like  to  believe  the 
worst,  the  secrets  of  no  family  are  exempt  from  their  malignant 
intrusions.  These  are  the  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  society 
whom  the  law  seldom  punishes,  although  they  perpetrate  more 
crimes  than  highwaymen  and  assassins — burglars  of  the  domestic 
tranquillity  of  families — robbers  of  others'  good  name — assassins 
of  the  characters  of  the  innocent. 

Thinking,  most  probably,  that  they  were  doing  her  a  kindness, 
the  friends  of  the  lady  loaded  the  name  of  Houston  with 
odium.  He  was  charged  with  every  species  of  crime  man  ever 
committed.  The  very  ignorance  of  the  community  about  the 
affair,  by  increasing  the  mystery  which  hung  over  it,  only  made 
it  seem  the  more  terrible.  In  the  meantime,  Houston  did  not 
offer  a  single  denial  of  a  single  calumny — would  neither  vindi- 
cate himself  before  the  public,  nor  allow  his  friends  to  do  it  for 
him.  He  sat  quietly,  and  let  the  storm  of  popular  fury  rage  on. 
From  that  day  he  has  even  among  his  confidential  friends  main- 
tained unbroken  silence,  and  whenever  he  speaks  of  the  lady, 
he  speaks  of  her  with  great  kindness.  Not  a  word  has  ever 
fallen  from  his  lips  that  cast  a  shade  upon  her  character ;  nor 
did  he  ever  allow  an  unkind  breath  against  her  in  his  presence. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  truth  of  the  matter,  or  whatever 
his  friends  may  have  known  or  conjectured,  he  had  but  one 
reply  for  them — "  This  is  a  painful  but  it  is  a  private  affair.  I 
do  not  recognize  the  right  of  the  public  to  interfere  in  it,  and  I 
shall  treat  the  public  just  as  though  it  had  never  happened. 
And  remember  that,  whatever  may  be  said  by  the  lady  or  her 
friends,  it  is  no  part  of  the  conduct  of  a  gallant  or  a  gene- 
rous man  to  take  up  arms  against  a  woman.  If  my  character 
cannot  stand  the  shock,  let  me  lose  it.  The  storm  will  soon 
sweep  by,  and  Time  will  be  my  vindicator." 

He  had  been  elected  to  every  office  he  had  held  in  the  State 
by  acclamation,  and  he  determined  instantly  to  resign  his  office 
as  Governor,  and  forego  all  his  brilliant  prospects  of  distinction, 


32  GOES    INTO    EXILE. 

and  exile  himself  from  the  habitations  of  civilized  raen^a  reso- 
lution more  likely  to  have  been  begotten  by  philosophy  than  by 
crime. 

We  have  no  apology  to  offer  for  this  singular  event.  If  we 
knew  the  truth  we  should  tell  it.  If  Houston  acted  culpably, 
it  could  not  be  expected  he  would  become  his  own  accuser.  If 
lie  were  the  injured  party,  and  chose  to  bear  in  silence  his 
wrong  and  the  odium  that  fell  on  him,  he  certainly  betrayed  no 
meanness  of  spirit,  for  he  never  asked  the  sympathy  of  the 
world.  But  notwithstanding  his  unbroken  silence  about  the 
affair  and  the  sacrifice  of  all  his  hopes,  he  was  denounced  by 
the  journals  of  the  day,  and  hunted  down  with  untiring  malig- 
nity by  those  who  had  the  meanness  to  pursue  a  generous  man 
in  misfortune.  After  his  determination  to  leave  the  country  was 
known,  they  threatened  him  with  personal  violence.  But  in  this 
he  bearded  and  defied  them. 

But  his  friends  did  not  desert  him  while  the  sun  of  his  fortune 
was  passing  this  deep  eclipse.  They  gathered  around  him,  and 
the  streets  of  Nashville  would  have  flowed  with  blood  if  Hous- 
ton's enemies  had  touched  a  hair  of  his  head.  But  such  ruffians 
never  execute  their  tows,  when  they  have  brave  men  to  deal 
with,  and  Houston  resigned  his  office,  and  taking  leave  of  his 
friends,  he  quietly  left  the  city  of  Nashville.  He  now  turned 
his  back  upon  the  haunts  of  white  men,  and  there  was  no  refuge 
left  for  him  but  the  forests.  There  he  had  a  home,  of  which  the 
reader  has  yet  heard  nothing ;  it  was  far  away  from  civilized 
life. 

While  he  was  roving  in  his  youth  among  the  Cherokees,  he 
had  found  a  friend  in  their  chief,  who  adopted  him  as  his 
son,  and  gave  him  a  corner  in  his  wigwam.  In  the  meantime, 
the  chief  with  his  tribe  had  removed  from  the  Hi-Wassee  country 
to  Arkansas,  and  become  king  of  the  Cherokees,  resident  there. 
During  their  long  separation,  which  had  now  lasted  more  than 
eleven  years,  they  had  never  ceased  to  interchange  tokens  of 
their  kind  recollections.  When,  therefore,  he  embarked  on  the 
Cumberland,  he  thought  of  his  adopted  father,  and  he  turned  his 
face  to  his  wigwam-home,  knowing  that  he  would  be  greeted 
there  with  the  old  chief's  blessino-. 


CHAPTER    V. 


THE   EXILE. 


His  separation  from  his  friends  al  the  steamboat  was  a 
touching  scene.  He  was  a  young  man,  for  he  had  not  passed 
his  thirty-fifth  year.  He  was  in  the  vigor  and  strength  of  early 
manhood.  He  had  filled  the  highest  stations,  and  been 
crowned  with  the  highest  honors,  his  state  could  give.  They 
knew  the  history  of  his  early  life,  and  they  felt  pride  in  his 
character.  He  was  literally  a  man  of  the  people,  and  they 
looked  forward  to  his  future  advancement  with  all  the  pride 
of  kindred  feelings.  A  storm  had  suddenly  burst  upon  his 
path  ;  but  they  knew  it  would  soon  sweep  by,  bearing  him  to 
a  higher  and  fairer  eminence  than  before.  He  seemed  to  be 
casting  from  him  the  palm  of  victory ;  to  be  stepping  down 
from  his  glory  to  obscurity,  and  his  friends  (and  they  were 
the  people  of  Tennessee)  parted  from  him  with  sorrow  and  in 
sadness. 

And  it  was  a  strange  sight  to  see  one  so  young,  around 
whose  brow  the  myrtle  wreath  of  fame  was  twining,  cast  aside 
the  robes  of  office  and  give  up  a  bright  future  for  a  home  in 
the  wilderness.     It  was  no  flight  of  a  criminal ;  it  was  not 
even  a  necessary  retirement  from  turbulence  and  excitement, 
for  even  before  he  left,  the  fury  of  his  enemies  had  abated  and 
his  real  strength  was  greater  than  ever.     But  it  was  a  volun- 
tary exile  from  scenes  which  only  harrowed  his  feelings  while 
he  stayed,  and   the  Almighty  Providence,  which  had  shaped 
out  his  future  life,  was  leading  him  in  a    mysterious   way 
through  the  forests  to  found  a  new  empire.     Let  those  who 
laugh  at  a  Divine  Providence,  which  watches  over  its  chosen 
instruments,  sneer  as  they  read  this  ;  they  may  sneer  on — they 
are  welcome  to  their  creed. 

Landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  White  River,  he  ascended  the 
Arkansas  to  Little  Rock,  and  then  on  alternately  by  land  and 


84  THE  OLD  CHIEF  OP  OOLOOTEKA^ 

water  to  the  Falls  of  the  Arkansas,  four  hundred  miles  to  the 
northwest.  The  old  chief's  wigwam  was  built  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Arkansas,  and  the 
Cherokees  were  settled  on  both  sides  of  the  river  above  ForS 
Smith. 

It  was  night  when  the  steamboat,  which  carried  Houston, 
arrived  at  the  Falls,  two  miles  distant  from  the  dwelling  of  the 
Cherokee  chief.  As  the  boat  passed  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
intelligence  was  communicated  to  the  old  man  that  his  adopted 
son  CoJenneh  (the  Raven — the  name  given  him  on  adoption) 
was  on  board.  In  a  short  time  the  chief  came  down  to  meet 
his  son,  bringing  with  him  all  his  family. 

This  venerable  old  chief,  Oolooteka,  had  not  seen  less  than 
sixty-five  years,  and  yet  he  measured  full  six  feet  in  height, 
and  indicated  no  symptom  of  the  feebleness  of  age.  He  had 
the  most  courtly  carriage  in  the  world,  and  never  prince  sat  on 
a  throne  with  more  peerless  grace  than  he  presided  at  the 
council  fire  of  his  people.  His  wigwam  was  large  and  com- 
fortable, and  he  lived  in  patriarchal  simplicity  and  abundance. 
He  had  ten  or  twelve  servants,  a  large  plantation,  and  not  less 
than  five  hundred  head  of  cattle.  The  wigwam  of  this  aged 
chieftain  was  always  open  to  visitors,  and  his  bountiful  board 
was  always  surrounded  by  welcome  guests.  He  never  slaugh- 
tered less  than  one  beef  a  week  throughout  the  year  for  his 
table — a  tax  on  royalty,  in  a  country,  too,  where  no  tithes  are 
paid. 

Such  was  the  home  Houston  found  waiting  for  him  in  the 
forests.  The  old  chief  threw  his  arras  around  him,  and  em- 
braced him  with  great  affection.  "  My  son,"  said  he,  "eleven 
winters  have  passed  since  we  met.  My  heart  has  wandered 
often  where  you  were ;  and  I  heard  you  were  a  great  chief 
among  your  people.  Since  we  parted  at  the  Falls,  as  you 
went  up  the  river,  I  have  heard  that  a  dark  cloud  had  fallen  on 
the  white  path  you  were  walking,  and  when  it  fell  in  your  way, 
you  turned  your  thoughts  to  my  wigwam.  I  am  glad  of  it — 
it  was  done  by  the  Great  Spirit.  There  are  many  wise  men 
among  your  people,  and  thev  have  manv  counri)lor«  in  ir^'"- 


LIFE    AMONG    THE    CHEROKEES.  35 

nation.  We  are  in  trouble  and  the  Great  Spirit  has  sent  you 
to  us  to  give  us  council,  and  take  trouble  away  from  us.  I 
know  you  will  be  our  friend,  for  our  hearts  are  near  to  you, 
and  you  will  tell  our  sorrows  to  the  great  father.  General  Jack- 
son. My  wigwam  is  yours — my  home  is  yojirs — my  people 
are  yours — rest  with  us." 

Such  was  the  touching  greeting  the  old  chieftain  gave  him; 
and  Houston  has  often  been  heard  to  say,  that  when  he  laid 
himself  down  to  sleep  that  night,  after  the  gloom  and  the  sor- 
rows of  the  last  few  weeks,  he  felt  like  a  weary  wanderer 
returned  at  last  to  his  father's  house. 

Houston  now  passed  nearly  three  years  among  the  Chero- 
kees.  His  history  during  this  period  is  filled  with  stirring  and 
beautiful  incidents,  many  of  which  have  come  to  our  know- 
ledge, well  worthy  of  being  related,  since  they  would  afford 
the  finest  pictures  of  the  lights  and  shadows  of  forest  life. 
But  they  would  only  illustrate  more  fully  those  characteristics 
of  stern  courage  and  wild  heroism  for  which  he  has,  through- 
out his  life,  been  so  distinguished,  and  of  which  the  world  will 
require  no  better  proofs  than  he  has  already  given.  We  shall, 
therefore,  pass  by  the  romance  of  his  forest  life,  at  this  period, 
and  speak  only  of  his  untiring  and  magnanimous  efforts  and 
sacrifices  for  several  years,  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed  and  out- 
raged Indians. 

The  red  man  on  this  continent  has  had  few  better  friends 
than  Houston.  From  his  youth  he  loved  the  children  of  the 
forest,  and  among  their  wigwams  and  around  their  council 
fires  he  studied  the  mysteries  of  their  nature.  He  has  declared 
that,  during  an  intercourse  with  them  of  many  years,  he  never 
was  betrayed  or  deceived  by  a  red  man.  Long  familiarity 
with  them  had  made  him  acquainted  with  their  wrongs  and 
iheir  sufferings,  and  he  knew  why  they  looked  upon  the  white 
man  as  their  foe.  He  had  robbed  them  of  their  forests  and 
game — he  had  laid  waste  their  wigwams  and  introduced  dis- 
cord at  their  council  fires — he  had,  with  the  glittering  bribe  of 
gold  and  rifles,  enticed  them  away  from  their  ancient  haunts, 
and  even  driven  them  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  from  the 


36  OUTRAGES    UPON    THE    INDIANS. 

graves  of  their  fathers — and,  worse  than  all,  he  had  brought 
among  them  his  accursed  fire-ivater,  which  had  melted  down 
the  lofty  chivalry  and  unbending  strength  of  their  primitive 
nature,  and  by  that  infernal  agency  degraded  and  enfeebled  a 
power  which,  jvithout  it,  they  could  never  have  subdued. 
This  was  the  forerunner  and  the  hand-maid  of  his  conquests 
— this  was  the  magic  wand  he  had  raised  over  their  stern  chief- 
tains, and  they  had  melted  away.  Was  it  any  wonder  that  the 
stricken  few  who  were  left  of  those  bold,  untameable  tribes,  that 
once  possessed  the  fair  lands  of  this  broad  continent,  should 
know  any  other  feelings  towards  their  usurpers  than  revenge ! 

Houston  knew  all  their  wrongs,  and  sympathized  in  all  their 
sufferings.  He  was  now  determined  to  devote  himself  to  their 
interests,  and  be  the  guardian  of  their  rights.  He  knew  that 
General  Jackson,  who  was  then  president,  felt  towards  him 
the  affection  and  confidence  of  an  old  and  tried  friend,  and  he 
was  resolved  to  scrutinize  the  actions  of  the  Indian  agents  and 
sub-agents  with  the  greatest  severity,  and  report  the  result  of 
his  observations  to  the  President. 

He  was  always  invited  to  mingle  in  the  councils  of  the 
Cherokees  during  his  residence  among  them,  but  while  he 
often  met  them  as  a  friend,  he  never  entered  their  councils  or 
joined  in  their  deliberations.  The  Chief  counselled  with  him, 
often  about  his  people,  nor  was  he  long  in  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  the  oppressions  and  glaring  injustice  which  had 
been  inflicted  on  them  by  the  agents  to  whom  their  affairs  had 
been  entrusted  in  their  migration  to  that  country.  In  exchange 
for  the  territory  they  had  occupied  lower  down  on  the  Arkan- 
sas, they  were  by  treaty  to  receive  twenty-eight  dollars  per 
capite,  which  amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  a  vast  sum.  In- 
stead of  paying  this  money  as  they  should  have  done,  certifi- 
cates were  issued  by  the  agents,  under  the  pretence  they  had 
no  money,  and  as  paper  is  always  considered  worthless  by 
the  Indians,  merchants  who  had  connections  with  the  agents 
purchased  up  these  certificates  in  a  fraudulent  manner  for  a 
mere  song,  representing  that  it  was  very  uncertain  w^hether  the 
Government  ever  could  send  them  money.      A  Mackinaw 


HOUSTON  S    OPINIONS    OF    THE    INDIANS.  37 

blanket,  a  flask  of  powder,  and  even  a  bottle  of  whiskey,  was 
often  all  these  defrauded  exiles  ever  got  for  the  plighted  faith 
of  our  Government. 

In  this  manner,  whole  tribes  were  preyed  upon  by  aban- 
doned speculators,  and  so  completely  despoiled  of  the  mu- 
nificent appropriations  of  Congress,  that  it  is  more  than 
doubtful  if  a  fifth  part  of  the  money,  secured  to  them  by 
solemn  treaty,  ever  got  into  their  hands  ;  and  even  the  fraction 
which  went  to  them  only  proved  a  curse.  In  speaking  on 
this  subject.  General  Houston  once  said— 

"  During  the  period  of  my  residence  among  the  Indians,  in  the 
Arkansas  region,  I  had  every  facility  for  gaining  a  complete  knowledge 
of  the  flagrant  outrages  practised  upon  the  poor  Red  men  b}'  the 
agents  of  the  government.  I  saw,  every  year,  vast  sums  squandered  and 
consumed  without  the  Indians  deriving  the  least  benefit,  and  the  govern- 
ment, in  very  many  instances,  utterly  ignorant  of  the  wrongs  that  were 
perpetrated.  Had  one-third  of  the  money  advanced  by  the  government 
been  usefully,  honorably,  and  wisely  applied,  all  those  tribes  might 
have  been  now  in  possession  of  the  arts  and  the  enjoyments  of  civih- 
sation.  I  care  not  what  dreamers,  and  politicians,  and  travellers,  and 
writers  say  to  the  contrary,  I  know  the  Indian  character,  and  I  confi- 
dently avow,  that  if  one-third  of  the  many  millions  of  dollars  our 
government  has  appropriated  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Indian  population,  had  been  honestly  and 
judiciously  applied,  there  would  not  have  been  at  this  time  a  singld 
tribe  within  the  limits  of  our  States  and  Territories,  but  what  woule 
have  been  in  the  complete  enjoyment  of  all  the  arts  and  all  the 
comforts  of  civilized  life.  But  there  is  not  a  tribe  but  has  been 
outraged  and  defrauded  ;  and  nearly  all  the  wars  we  have  prose- 
cuted against  the  Indians,  have  grown  out  of  the  bold  frauds  and 
the  cruel  Injustice  played  off  upon  them  by  our  Indian  agents  and 
their  accomplices.  But  the  purposes  for  which  these  vast  annuities 
and  enormous  contingent  advances  were  made  have  only  led  to 
the  destruction  of  the  constitutions  of  thousands  and  the  increase 
of  immorality  among  the  Indians.  We  cannot  measure  the  deso- 
lating effects  of  intoxicating  liquors  among  the  Indians  by  any 
analogy  drawn  from  civihzed  lite.  With  the  Red  man  the  conse- 
quences area  thousand  times  more  frightful.  Strong  drink,  when  once 
introduced  among  the  Indians,  unnerves  the  purposes  of  the  good,  and 
gives  energy  to  the  passions  of  the  vicious  ;  it  saps  the  constitution 
with  fearful  rapidity,  and  inflames  all  the  ferocity  of  the  savage  nature. 
The  remoteness  of  their  situation  excludes  them  from  all  the  benefits 
that  might  arise  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  condition  by  the 
President,  who  only  hears  one  side  of  the  story,  and  that,  too,  told  by 
his  own  creatures,  whose  motives  in  seeking  for  such  stations  are 


38  PERPETRATORS  OF  WRONG  EXPOSED, 

often  only  to  be  able  to  gratify  their  cupidity  and  avarice.  The 
President  should  be  careful  to  whom  Indian  agencies  are  given.  If 
there  are  trusts  under  our  government  where  honest  and  just  men  are 
needed,  they  are  needed  in  such  places;  where  peculation  and  fraud 
can  be  more  easily  perpetrated  than  anywhere  else.  For  in  the 
far  off  forests  beyond  the  Mississippi,  where  we  have  exiled  these  un- 
fortunate tribes,  they  can  perpetrate  their  crimes  and  their  out- 
rages, and  no  eye  but  the  Almighty's  sees  them." 

During  the  entire  period  he  resided  in  that  region,  he  was 
unceasing  in  his  efforts  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  ardent 
spirits  among  the  Indians  ;  and  though,  for  more  than  a  year,  he 
had  a  trading  establishment  between  the  Grand  River  and  the 
Verdigris,  he  never  introduced  or  trafficked  in  those  destructive 
drinks.  This,  too,  was  at  a  period  when  he  was  far  from  being 
a  practically  temperate  man  himself.  But,  whatever  might  be 
his  own  occasional  indulgences  during  his  visits  to  Fort  Gib- 
son and  other  white  settlements,  he  had  too  much  humanity 
and  love  for  the  Red  men,  ever  to  contribute  to  their  crimes  or 
their  misfortunes  by  introducing  or  trafficking  in  those  damnable 
poisons. 

Cognisant  of  the  frauds  practised  on  these  various  tribes  by 
the  agents  of  the  Government,  he  could  not  endure  such  intole- 
rable acts  of  outrage  upon  the  rights  and  the  sympathies  of 
those  whom  he  could  not  but  esteem  a  generous  and  a  good 
people ;  and  he  determined  their  conduct  should  be  known  at 
the  seat  of  Government,  not  doubting  they  would  be  instantly 
removed.  He  visited  Washington  early  in  1832,  and  made 
such  representations  as  caused  an  investigation  into  their  con- 
duct, and  notless  than  five  agents  and  sub-agents  were  promptly 
removed. 

These  disgraced  men  were,  some  oi  ihem,  hig-hli/  respectable, 
and  they  had  powerful  friends  in  Congress.  Their  dismissal 
from  office  was,  therefore,  the  signal  for  a  general  attack  upon 
Houston  from  every  quarter,  where  mortified  pride  or  disap- 
pointed cupidity  was  aroused  ;  and  even  to  this  day  these  at- 
tacks are  made.  Before  leaving  Arkansas,  the  swindlers, 
whose  conduct  he  had  exposed,  had  crowded  the  Journals  of 
that  region  with  the  basest  and  most  infamous  libels  against 


HOUSTON    VISITS   WASHINGTON.  39 

Houston's  character.  He  had  been  the  friend  of  the  despoiled 
Red  Man,  and  when  he  saw  a  band  of  land  pirates  leagued 
together  to  rob  the  poor  Indian,  his  humanity  was  stirred,  and 
he  fearlessly  tore  off  the  mask  which  covered  these  perpetrators 
of  such  high-handed  injustice.  But  it  was  a  crime  for  which 
they  never  forgave  him — and  all  that  money,  lavishly  used, 
and  friends  in  high  stations,  who  shared  the  spoils  of  the  rob- 
bers, and  a  venal  press,  all  moved  by  untiring  malignity,  could 
accomplish,  to  cover  Houston  with  infamy — loas  done. 

At  that  time,  hostility  against  General  Jackson  had  reached 
its  culminating  point.  There  was  a  majority  against  him  in 
Congress,  and  this  majority  were  bent  upon  his  ruin  as  a  pub- 
lic man.  All  the  agencies  that  are  resorted  to,  to  crush  a  great 
man,  who  is  rising  into  fame,  had  been  tried.  Calumny  had 
exhausted  its  venom,  and  hatred  had  belched  forth  all  its  ma- 
lignity. But  the  heroic  old  man  had  gone  through  it  all,  un- 
scathed, and  he  now  sat  calm  and  high  above  the  shafts  of  his 
foes. 

But  Houston  was  the  sworn  friend  of  the  old  General,  and 
being  a  young  man,  he  could  be  more  easily  crushed.  A  des- 
perate effort  was  made  to  rally  against  him  all  the  foes  of  Gene- 
ral Jackson,  and  the  effort  was  successful.  One  charge  which 
he  had  made  against  the  agents,  and  proved  incontrovertibly, 
seemed  to  multiply  their  former  malignity  a  hundred  fold. 
They  had  been  contractors  for  furnishing  Indian  rations ;  and 
through  their  injustice  or  delinquency,  some  of  the  Indians  had 
died  of  starvation,  and  to  multitudes  only  a  scanty  and  insuffi- 
cient supply  of  food  had  been  issued.  These  rations  were  is- 
sued at  but  one  point  in  the  two  Nations  (Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees),  which  compelled  the  emigrants,  as  they  had  not  had  the 
benefit  of  a  crop,  to  locate  in  the  most  unhealthy  parts  of  the 
country,  for  there  only  their  rations  could  be  obtained.  This 
prevented  their  establishment  and  creation  of  homes  in  the  new 
country,  to  which  they  had  emigrated. 

When  the  mask  was  torn  off  from  this  den  of  iniquity,  by 
the  bold,  humane  hand  of  Houston,  he  was  attacked  and  pur- 
sued with  ferocious  malignity. 


40  CONSPIRACY    TO    CRUSH    HOUSTON. 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  have  stirred  up  the  Press  of  the 
Nation  against  a  lofty-minded  and  upright  man  :  Now,  all  Con- 
gress was  to  be  moved  against  him.  It  was  necessary,  in  this 
last  desperate  crusade,  to  hit  upon  a  file-leader,  v/ho  had  distin- 
guished himself  for  his  malignant,  personal  hatred  of  General 
Jackson,  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  must  have  no  scruples 
against  being  the  supple  tool  of  wiser,  but  not  better  men,  who 
pulled  the  wires  behind  the  scene ».  Characters  of  this  descrip- 
tion were  not  wanting  in  the  Congress  that  waged  this  Third 
Punic  War  against  the  old  Man  of  the  Hermitage  ;  but  the 
most  supple,  brazen-faced,  shameless  of  all,  was  a  certain 
politician,  who  had  been  elected  as  a  friend  of  Jackson.  He 
was  chosen  as  the  best  instrument  they  could  find  to  use  for 
their  purposes.  In  his  place  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, he  assailed  Houston,  and  charged  him  with  an  attempt  to 
obtain  a  fraudulent  contract  for  Indian  Rations,  and  he  boldly 
intimated  that  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  even  Greneral  Jack- 
son himself,  were  implicated  in  the  attempt  to  defraud  ! 

A  crisis  had  now  come.  Houston  had  suffered  all  sorts  of 
abuse  before,  and  borne  it  in  silence,  but  when  he  saw  the 
fame,  and  even  the  integrity  of  Gen.  Jackson,  ruthlessly  as- 
sailed on  his  account,  by  a  member  of  Congress,  he  was  deter- 
mined to  chastise  him  for  his  cowardly  insolence  to  the  Presi- 
dent. He  knew  Houston's  determination,  and  was  careful  not 
to  cross  his  path.  At  last,  one  evening,  when  he  knew,  by  posi- 
tive information,  that  Houston  was  not  armed,  he  crossed  over 
to  the  other  side  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  (where  Houston  was 
walking)  for  the  purpose  of  perpetrating  some  foul  deed  in  the 
dark,  we  have  a  right  to  suppose,  since  it  was  proved  on  the 
trial  that  he  was  armed,  and  did  attempt  the  life  of  Houston, 
who  had  no  weapon  about  him  but  a  hickory  cane. 

A.S  soon  as  Houston  recognized  his  antagonist,  through  the 

moon-light,  he  asked   him  if  his  name  was ,  of  Ohio. 

The  answer  had  no  sooner  escaped  his  lips,  than  Houston,  who 
knew  he  had  no  time  to  lose,  since  he  was  unarmed,  levelled 
him  to  the  ground,  and  shivered  his  hickory  cane  upon  his 
head.     In  the  meantime,  he  had  snapped  a  pistol  at  Hous- 


TRIAL  OF  HOUSTON  BEFORE  CONGRESS.  41 

ton,  bat  it  missed  fire,  or  he  had  been  a  dead  man,  for  it  was 
held  to  his  breast.  Houston  spared  his  life,  and  the  policitian 
crawled  off  to  his  bed,  which  he  kept  some  days. 

The  chastised  member  now  caused  four  processes  to  be 
commenced  against  Houston,  by  which  he  expected  to  crush 
and  disgrace  him  for  ever.  He  was  arrested  by  the  Sergeant- 
at-arms,  and  brought  before  the  House  of  Representatives,  who 
resolved  themselves  into  a  judicial  tribunal,  to  try  him  on  the 
charge  of  violation  of  the  rights  of  one  of  their  Members, 
whom  Houston  had  held  responsible  for  words  uttered  in  de- 
bate. The  court  sat  nearly  thirty  days,  and  no  means  were 
spared  to  condemn  the  accused  man.  It  was  argued,  and  with 
great  ability,  by  his  friends,  that  the  House  had  no  jurisdiction 
in  the  case  ;  that  by  the  Constitution,  Congress  had  been  made 
a  Legislative  Assembly,  but  clothed  with  no  judicial  powers 
over  American  citizens.  In  this  opinion,  too,  it  is  but  just  to 
add,  some  of  Gen.  Jackson's  political  opponents  concurred. 
The  matter  dragged  on  nearly  a  month,  and  as  the  conduct, 
the  character,  and  the  winning  personal  appearance  of  Hous- 
ton were  continually  gaining  him  friends,  and  the  public  were 
becoming  indignant  that  Congress  should  abandon  the  busi- 
ness of  the  country  to  prosecute  and  lacerate  an  unfortunate 
and  self-exiled  man,  who  had  bled  in  its  service ;  even  his  foes 
themselves  became  tired  of  the  prosecution.  On  the  trial, 
Houston  spoke  in  his  own  defence,  at  great  length,  and  with 
consummate  eloquence  and  ability.  It  was  a  touching  spec- 
tacle, to  see  a  man  who  had  been  four  years  a  member  of  that 
body,  the  governor  of  a  great  State,  the  bosom  friend  of  Gen. 
Jackson,  one  who  bore  on  his  body  the  deep  wounds  received 
in  fighting  under  the  flag  waving  from  the  top  of  the  Capitol, 
arraigned  by  parly  politicians  before  their  bar,  for  having,  in 
protecting  himself,  while  unarmed,  from  the  stealthy  attack  of 
an  armed  coward,  chastised  a  renegade  demagogue,  who  had 
dared  to  charge  the  President  of  the  United  States  with  a  bold 
fraud,  because  he  thought  he  could,  in  his  place  in  Congress, 
do  it  with  impunity.  Politicians  of  a  certain  class  will 
at  last  learn,  that  in  their  attempts  to  crush  those  bold  and 


42  TRIUMPH    OVER   THE    CONSPIRACY. 

magnanimous  men  who  stand  by  the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  have,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  government, 
led  the  popular  majorities — they  are  only  hastening  their  ad- 
vancement to  power. 

What  turned  the  popular  feeling  in  favor  of  Houston  at  the 
time,  and  made  him  dear  to  the  people,  just  in  proportion  as 
he  was  persecuted,  was  the  undeniable  fact  that  he  was 
brought  to  the  rack  and  tortured  there,  because  of  his  enthusi- 
astic love  for  his  old  General,  who  ivas  then  President. 

This  protracted  and  august  trial  ended  in  a  party  vote  of 
instructions  to  the  Speaker,  to  reprimand  the  prisoner  at  the 
bar  of  the  House.  But  the  reprimand  was  delivered  in  so 
courteous  and  delicate  a  manner,  it  carried  with  it  more  of  the 
tone  of  an  approval  than  a  reprimand.  It  was  everywhere 
regarded  as  a  signal  triumph  to  Houston,  for  few  men  ever 
had  so  mighty  a  power  maa'shalled  against  them. 

The  second  process  was  to  move  for  a  committee  to  be  ap- 
pointed to  investigate  the  truth  of  the  charge  that  member 
had  made  against  Houston,  of  fraud  in  procuring  a  contract 
for  furnishing  Indian  rations.  A  committee  was  raised  and 
the  demagogue  was  appointed  chairman,  which  threw  into  his 
hands  power  to  crush  his  enemy,  if  the  fraud  could  be  proved. 
Houston,  conscious  of  his  innocence,  had  procured  this  mea- 
sure to  be  adopted  himself.  And  what  was  the  result  of  this 
second  attempt  to  ruin  this  man,  who  had  come  from  his  dis- 
tant exile  only  on  the  humane  mission — which  an  angel  might 
have  undertaken — of  procuring  justice  for  the  outraged  In- 
dians !  After  a  tedious  and  thorough  investigation — after 
marshalling  every  circumstance  they  could  to  his  prejudice, 
the  committee  was  compelled  to  report  that  not  the  slightest 
evidence  had  appeared  to  sustain  the  charge. 

Houston  was  still  triumphant,  and  his  foes  made  another 
effort.  They  introduced  a  resolution  to  exclude  him  for  ever 
from  the  lobby  of  the  House,  where,  as  an  ex- Member  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  Governor  of  a  State,  he  had  a  right  to  go.  But 
this  also  failed ! 

Every  process  that  could  either  injure  or  disgrace  him  had 


RETURNS    TO    HIS    EXILE.  43 

now  been  tried  in  Congress,  and  so  far  from  crushing  him,  he 
had  been  steadily  rising.  The  fowth  and  last  act  in  this  dis- 
graceful drama  then  opened.  At  the  instance  of  this  same 
demagogue,  who,  by  being  flogged  by  Houston,  had  now  won, 
what  was  doubtless  to  him,  a  very  gratifying  notoriety,  he  was 
indicted  and  held  to  bail  in  a  criminal  process  of  $20,000.  He 
could  have  evaded  the  trial  by  leaving  the  District,  but  he  met 
his  enemy  once  more,  and  after  twenty  days  he  was  fined  $500 
and  costs.  But  no  enforcement  of  the  sentence  of  the  Court 
was  ever  attempted.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  last  act 
but  one  of  General  Jackson's  administration  was  to  remit  the 
fine. 

Seldom,  if  ever,  in  the  history  of  this  country,  has  so  ma- 
lignant a  persecution  been  waged  against  a  public  man.  Sel- 
dom, in  the  history  of  the  world,  has  a  man  been  able  to  with- 
stand so  mighty  a  conspiracy.  But  Houston  came  off  tri- 
umphantly. During  this  entire  period  of  attack  and  abuse  he 
had  displayed  no  cowardice  nor  shunned  the  most  searching 
scrutiny.  He  had  bared  his  breast  to  his  foes,  and  invited  their 
weapons.  And  now,  when  they  had  given  over  the  contest, 
and  retired  from  it  loaded  with  mortification  and  contempt, 
this  hunted  and  persecuted  man  deliberately  abandoned  once 
more  the  haunts  of  civilisation,  and  went  voluntarily  where  his 
foes  never  could  have  driven  him — back  to  his  exile. 

He  returned  by  the  way  of  Tennessee,  and  wherever  he  went 
he  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  regard.  Years 
had  passed  since  other  painful  occurrences  had  taken  place— 
and  with  them  had  passed,  too,  the  storm  they  had  raised.  Rea- 
son had  resumed  its  sway  over  the  public  mind,  and  a  strong 
desire  was  manifested  that  he  should  again  take  up  his  abode 
in  Tennessee.  The  recent  persecutions  he  had  just  passed 
through  had  only  won  for  him  a  deeper  sympathy  than  ever, 
and  all  the  pride  of  the  State  was  "aroused  to  protect  and 
honor  the  man  it  had  lost.  But  he  could  not  be  dissuaded 
from  his  purpose  of  returning  once  more  to  the  forest.  A 
sight  of  the  spot  where  he  had  seen  the  bright  hopes  that 
had  greeted  his  early  manhood,  crushed  in  a  single  hour. 


44  THE  HEARTH-STONE  OF  A  SAVAGE  KING. 

only  awakened  associations  he  wished  to  forget ;  and  he  once 
more  turned  his  face  towards  the  distant  wigwam  of  the  old 
Indian  Chief,  where,  after  a  year  of  persecution  from  Chris- 
tian man,  he  found  repose  by  the  hearth-stone  of  a  savage 
king — a  biting  sature  upon  civilized  life. 


It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  effect  that  such  unrelenting 
persecution  must  have  produced  upon  a  sensitive,  a  proud  and 
a  magnanimous  man.  He  had  escaped  civilized  life,  and  gone 
where  its  pestiferous  and  calumny-loaded  breath  could  not 
reach  him. 

He  had  no  more  ambition  to  gratify.  Posts  of  honor  and 
emolument  proffered  by  General  Jackson,  he  rejected,  for  he 
would  never  suffer  the  foes  of  the  old  Warrior  and  Statesman 
to  heap  opprobrium  upon  his  name  for  showing  favor  to  a 
proscribed  man. 


JOURNEY    THROUGH    THE    WILDERNESS.  4''> 


CHAPTER    VI. 


TEXAS — THE    NEW   FIELD. 


His  intention  was  now  to  become  a  herdsman,  and  spend 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  tranquillity  of  the  prairie  solitudes. 
A  fondness  for  rural  pursuits  was  now  the  only  passion  he 
had  to  gratify.  Leaving  his  wigwam,  which  was  situated  on 
the  margin  of  a  prairie  between  the  Verdigris  and  the  Grand 
River,  a  short  distance  from  its  junction  with  the  Arkansas,  he 
set  out  on  the  1st  of  December,  1832,  with  a  few  companions, 
through  the  wilderness  to  Fort  Towson.  At  Nacogdoches  he 
reported  himself  to  the  authorities,  and  a  few  days  after  went 
on  to  San  Felipe  de  Austin,  the  scat  of  government  of  Aus- 
tin's Colony  ;  after  reporting  to  the  authorities,  he  prosecuted 
his  journey  to  San  Antonio  de  Bexar. 

Here  he  held  an  interview  with  a  delegation  of  the  Ca- 
manche  Indians  on  a  visit  to  that  place.  In  all  his  intercourse 
with  the  authorities  and  citizens,  his  conduct  was  marked  by 
great  respect  for  law  and  the  institutions  of  the  country.  After 
some  days  he  returned  with  two  companions  to  San  Felipe  de 
Austin.  At  Nacogdoches  he  was  now  warmly  solicited  to 
establish  his  permanent  residence,  and  ailow  his  name  to  be 
used  as  candidate  for  election  to  a  convention  which  was  to 
meet  in  the  following  April.* 

He  was  slow  now  to  yield  to  their  request,  for  his  purpose 
had  been  formally  settled  to  abandon  public  life  and  enjoy  the 
repose  and  solitude  of  a  forest  home.  But  a  single  glance  at 
the  resources  of  this  new  country,  and  the  character  and  con- 
dition of  its  population,  satisfied  him  that  a  great  destiny 
awaited  them,  and  in  imagination  he  already  saw  a  new  com- 

*  In  1832,  in  view  of  the  probable  necessity  of  revolutionizing  Texas,  the  people 
of  the  country  openly  and  generally  expressed  themselves  in  favor  of  inviting 
either  Houston  or  Carroll  to  come  among  them,  and  head  any  revolutionary  move- 
ment that  might  be  determined  on. 


46  FIRST    ANGLO-SAXON    CONVENTION. 

monwealth  rising  into  power.  He  was  still  in  the  morning 
of  life — here  was  a  new  field  for  achievement,  where  all  the 
bold  elements  of  his  character  could  find  full  play.  Once 
embarked  On  the  stream  of  a  revolution  the  world  would  learn, 
at  last,  the  character  of  the  man  it  had  hunted  from  society, 
and  history  and  time  would  pronounce  his  eulogy.  Sober 
reflection  convinced  him  that  his  public  life  was  hardly  yet 
begun,  and  he  permitted  them  to  use  his  name  for  the  suf- 
frages of  the  people,  who  seemed  at  once  to  recognize  his  great 
qualities  as  a  civil  and  military  leader. 

While  the  election  was  going  on  he  returned  to  Natchi- 
toches, in  Louisiana,  and  made  a  report  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States.  Its  origin  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  the 
fact  of  his  having  been  requested  by  General  Jackson  to  ascer- 
tain the  disposition  of  the  Camanches  to  make  peace  with  our 
Government,  and  to  prevail  upon  a  delegation  of  that  nume- 
rous and  warlike  nation  to  visit  Fort  Gibson  on  the  Arkansas, 
and  afterwards  proceed  to  Washington.  General  Jackson 
thought  that  the  emigration  of  the  Choctaws,  the  Chickasaws, 
and  the  Creeks,  would  be  promoted  by  a  Treaty  of  Peace  with 
the  Camanches,  whose  power  and  hostile  disposition  they 
dreaded  in  establishing  themselves  in  their  new  home.  As 
this  was  a  confidential  mission,  little  is  known  of  its  history. 
But  it  is  certain  that  in  Houston's  interview  with  the  Ca- 
manches at  Bexar,  the  objects  were  accomplished  which  had 
been  contemplated  by  the  mission. 

On  his  return  to  Nacogdoches  he  learned  that  during  his 
absence  he  had  been  elected  by  a  unanimous  vote.  He  took 
up  his  residence  among  his  new  constituents,  who  had  ex- 
tended towards  him  so  generous  a  greeting. 

This  convention,  which  was  composed  of  more  than  fifty 
members,  assembled  at  San  Felipe  de  Austin,  the  first  of 
April,  1833.  It  was  the  first  deliberate  assembly,  made  up 
of  men  descended  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  which  had  ever 
assembled  within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  dominions  of  Cor- 
tez,  and  the  first  step  in  that  stupendous  movement,  which  has 
akeady  swept  across  the   Cordillera  Mountains  to  the  green 


DOINGS   OF    THE    CONVENTION.  47 

shores  of  the  Pacific,  where  a  thousand  young  riflemen  from 
New  York  and  New  England  are  going  to  plant  fortresses  of 
protection,  and  institutions  of  learning,  like  those  which  are 
now  overshadowing  the  crumbling  despotisms  of  two  hemi- 
spheres. 

The  convention  met  in  a  rude,  narrow  apartment — as  the 
first  colonists  of  the  Grecian  states  are  said  to  have  organized 
those  matchless  republics  of  antiquity,  under  rude  tents  in  the 
forests,  robed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts.  But  there  were  men 
there,  whose  deliberations  involved  the  fate  of  many  millions. 

As  the  delegates  had  their  own  expenses  to  pay,  they  pro- 
ceeded forthwith  to  the  business  which  had  called  them  toge- 
ther, and  in  thirteen  days,  they  completed  one  of  the  best 
models  extant  for  a  State  Constitution.  It  was  signed  by  the 
members,  and  a  memorial  adopted  by  the  Convention.  Ste- 
phen F.  Austin,  William  H.  Wharton,  President  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  James  B.  Miller,  were  appointed  commissioners 
to  bear  the  constitution  and  memorial  to  the  supreme  govern- 
ment of  Mexico,  and  obtain  the  recognition  of  Texas  as  one 
of  the  states  of  the  confederacy.  The  memorial  set  forth  va- 
rious reasons  why  Texas  should  become  one  of  the  states  of 
Mexico ;  amongst  others,  that  it  would  enable  her  to  negotiate 
terms  with  the  hostile  Indian  tribes,  and  secure  their  rights  to 
land  previously  promised  by  the  general  government.  En- 
croachments had  been  made  on  the  Indian  territory,  subse- 
quent to  the  rupture  between  the  colonists  and  the  Mexican 
soldiers,  stationed  at  Nacogdoches,  Velasco  and  Anahuac. 
This  rupture  had  taken  place  in  the  summer  of  1832,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  difference  between  Bustamente  and  Santa  Anna. 
The  former  had  attempted  to  subvert  the  constitution  of  1824, 
and  the  military  throughout  Texas  had  pronounced  in  his 
favor.  Santa  Anna  declared  himself  the  friend  and  supporter 
of  the  constitution,  and  the  colonists  sidine:  with  him  in  the 
civil  revolution,  which  had  begun  in  Mexico  and  spread  to 
Texas,  had  expelled  the  military,  whose  usurpations,  up  to  that 
lime,  had  been  submitted  to  without  murmuring.  Santa  Anna 
was  now  in  power,  and  the  colonists  doubted  not  that  Austin 


48        THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  POLICY  OF  THE  NEW  STATE 

and  his  colleagues  would  be  received  with  favor,  and  their 
Constitution  ratified  by  the  Federal  authorities. 

Austin  alone  finally  went  to  the  city  of  xMexico.  He  was 
received  with  some  formality,  but  little  encouragement  was 
given  to  his  mission.  In  the  meantime  Santa  Anna  had  resolv- 
ed on  establishing-  a  military  despotism^  which  was  the  only 
reason  that  could  have  been  urged  against  accepting  the  con- 
stitution. 

In  the  formation  of  that  instrument  the  greatest  care  had 
been  taken  to  render  it  entirely  acceptable  to  the  Central 
Government.  In  the  organization  of  the  States  of  Mexico, 
under  the  Federal  Constitution  of  1824,  the  Provinces  of 
Texas  and  Coahuila  formed  one  State,  but  the  right  had  been 
reserved  to  Texas  of  constituting  herself  a  distinct  State  when 
her  population  would  justify  the  measure.  The  Federal 
Government  and  Coahuila  had  for  some  time  pursued  towards 
Texas  a  policy  which  rendered  it  necessary  for  her  to  become 
a  separate  State  as  soon  as  possible.  They  had  granted  away 
her  territory  in  large  tracts,  under  the  pretence  of  raising  funds 
to  enable  Mexico  to  defend  her  frontiers  against  the  Indians, 
but  she  had  never  appropriated  one  dollar  to  that  object.  For, 
whenever  the  Central  Administration  stationed  any  troops 
in  Texas,  it  was  in  the  towns  nearest  to  the  sea-board,  where 
no  hostile  attack  from  the  savages  could  be  apprehended. 
Here,  with  a  military  force  to  overawe  the  citizens,  a  support 
of  the  Government,  which  would  never  otherwise  have  been 
conceded,  could  be  extorted.  The  Frontiers  were  left  without 
protection,  and  the  colonists  were  obliged  to  protect  themselves 
as  best  they  could,  against  the  hostile  incursions  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  tribes  of  Indians. 

We  have  already  said  that  great  care  was  taken  to  render 
the  new  Constitution  acceptable  to  the  Federal  Government. 
Mexico,  for  example,  had  no  banks.  In  the  Convention  a 
measure  had  been  brought  forward,  and  an  article  proposed  to 
be  inserted,  authorizing  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas 
to  create  a  bank  or  banks.  This  measure  was  introduced  by 
Branch  T.  Archer,  and  supported  by  the  principal  men  in  the 


Houston's  public  policy.  49 

Convention.  Houston  was  the  only  speaker  who  opposed  the 
policy.  In  principle  he  was  opposed  to  any  system  of  bank- 
ing, except  one  whose  powers  could  be  brought  within  very  nar- 
row limits  ;  and  he  did  not  believe  a  more  fatal  precedent  could 
be  established  in  the  infancy  of  the  new  State.  The  exigencies 
of  cupidity  and  of  business  would  prove  stronger  than  the 
enactments  of  law,  and  he  was  persuaded  that  no  sound  sys- 
tem of  banking  could  be  hoped  for  in  so  new  a  community. 

But  he  was  opposed  to  the  measure  also,  on  the  ground  of 
policy.  It  would  be  a  valid  reason,  if  inserted,  for  Mexico  to 
reject  the  Constitution,  since  it  would  be  an  innovation  upon 
the  legislation  of  the  general  government,  and  he  was  deeply 
anxious  to  preserve  harmony,  and  wished  Texas  to  defer  to 
the  prejudices  and  institutions  of  Mexico,  rather  than  excite 
her  jealousy  by  any  of  these  new  movements,  which  would  at 
least  be  likely  to  excite  suspicion,  if  not  positive  alarm. 
Houston  spoke  on  this  subject  with  great  eloquence  and  con- 
vincing power.  He  caused  the  article  in  dispute  to  be  stricken 
out,  and  one  inserted  prohibiting  the  establishment  of  all  banks 
and  banking  corporations,  for  a  period  of  ninety-nine  years, 
which  passed  the  Convention  by  a  large  majority. 

This  was  the  first  illustration  Houston  gave,  of  that  wise 
and  profound  policy,  which  guided  all  his  counsels  during  the 
long  struggle  Texas  was  obliged  to  pass,  before  she  could  be 
admitted  to  the  full  and  recognized  liberties  of  an  American 
commonwealth.  We  shall  often  have  occasion  to  remark  the 
difference  between  his  policy,  and  that  of  other  public  men, 
who  figured  on  the  same  scene.  All  new  States  are  infested, 
more  or  less,  by  a  class  of  busy,  noisy,  second-rate  men,  who 
are  always  in  favor  of  rash  and  extreme  measures.  But  Tex- 
as was  absolutely  overrun  by  such  men.  There  seemed  to  be 
few  of  that  class  who  give  character  to  the  institutions  of  new 
States,  which  spring  suddenly  into  power, — men  who  are  brave 
enough  for  any  trial  of  courage,  wise  enough  for  any  difficult 
emergency,  and  cool  enough  for  any  crisis  of  danger.  But 
fortunately,  Texas  had  some  such  men,  and  she  had  a  leader 

she  depended  on  in  the  camp,  and  a  councillor  she  relied  on 
4 


50  AUSTIN  S    IMPRISONMENT    IN    MEXICO. 

in  the  Senate.  It  is  exceedingly  doubtful  what  would  have 
been  her  fate,  but  for  him.  And  yet,  we  shall  perceive,  as  we 
trace  down  Houston's  history,  involving,  as  it  necessarily  does, 
the  history  of  Texas,  that  all  his  difficulties  and  all  the  dan- 
gers of  the  State,  and  the  sufferings  and  sacrifices  of  her  peo- 
ple, grew  out  of  the  rash  and  headstrong  movements  of  a  few 
men,  whose  judgments  and  counsels  were  generally  precipi- 
tate, and  ended,  when  followed,  in  embarrassing  the  State  or 
plunging  her  into  danger. 

Those  who  were  present  in  the  Convention,  have  always 
attributed  to  Houston  the  moulding  influence  which  controlled 
the  action  of  that  Assembly,  which  gave  tone  to  the  political 
feelings  and  events  that  followed.  They  are  also  just  as  con- 
fident in  the  belief,  that  if  restless  and  ambitious  spirits,  who 
will  "  rule  or  rend,"  had  been  willing  to  follow  Houston's  wise 
counsels,  the  Independence  of  Texas  would  have  been 
achieved  without  much  sacrifice  of  blood  or  treasure.  We 
shall  see  how  he  at  last  triumphed,  and  how  much  sacrifice, 
and  care,  and  endurance,  it  cost  him  and  his  country. 

But  to  return  to  Austin,  whom  we  left  in  Mexico,  and  in 
trouble.  Finding  his  application  fail,  he  concluded  to  return 
to  Texas.  On  his  way  home,  he  was  pursued  by  order  of  the 
government,  taken  back  to  the  capital,  and  plunged  into  a 
dungeon,  where  he  dragged  out  many  months  of  gloom  and 
suffering.  He  was  an  amiable,  enlightened,  excellent  man, 
and  a  pure  patriot.  He  was  beloved  and  respected  by  the 
colonists,  and  his  fame  and  his  virtues  will  be  long  cherished 
by  the  Texians.  During  his  imprisonment,  stories  of  his  suf- 
ferings reached  Texas,  and  everywhere  produced  a  deep  sen- 
sation. The  indignation  of  the  colonists  burst  forth  like  the 
rage  of  a  single  man.  There  was,  at  that  time,  only  one  press 
in  Texas  (at  Brazoria),  but  it  gave  utterance  to  the  wrongs  of 
the  people ;  and  although  few  in  numbers  (for  the  entire 
population  of  Texas  did  not  exceed  20,000  souls),  yet,  instead 
of  exercising  discretion,  they  spoke  freely  of  the  wrongs  they 
endured,  and  the  rights  guaranteed  to  them  under  the  Consti- 
tution of  1824.     Houston  discouraged  such  unrestrained  ebul- 


OUTRAGES  AND  WRONGS  PERPETRATED    ON    TEXAS.  51 

litions  of  feeling,  since  they  would  be  likely  to  plunge  Texas 
into  a  bloody  struggle  with  Mexico  before  she  was  prepared 
for  it,  wliile  he  was  as  anxious  as  any  man  for  the  day  of  their 
political  redemption  to  come. 

Austin  had  been  cast  into  prison  with  no  formal  accusation 
alleged  against  him,  and  without  even  the  form  of  a  trial. 
At  length  he  was  liberated  by  Santa  Anna,  and  permitted  to 
return  home.  He  had  great  confidence  in  Austin,  for  he  had 
shown  himself  a  friend  of  order  on  all  occasions  in  Texas,  and 
loyal  to  the  principles  recognized  at  the  time.  He  had  first 
migrated  to  that  country  with  300  families,  as  colonists,  and 
thus  introduced  the  materials  of  that  vast  political  structure, 
which  was  subsequently  wrought  into  form  and  beauty. 
When  he  returned  to  Texas,  he  found  the  public  mind  in- 
flamed, and  indignation  had  been  expressed  in  municipal 
meetings.  But  when  public  feeling  was  subsiding,  and  few, 
if  any,  orderly  men  were  thinking  of  extreme  measures,  Santa 
Anna  showed  clearly  that  nothing  short  of  absolute  power 
would  satisfy  him. 

The  colonists  were  alarmed,  and  precautionary  measures 
taken.  They  were  ruled  by  Mexican  laws,  and  governed  by 
officers  who  followed  blindly  Mexican  edicts.  Rumors  were 
constantly  reaching  Texas,  that  the  colonists  were  laboring 
under  the  disapprobation  of  the  Mexican  government.  The 
commerce  of  Texas  had  been  placed  under  restrictions  of  the 
most  oppressive  character,  and  the  worst  men  had  been  set 
over  the  administration  of  the  customs.  Taxation  had  become 
oppressive.  The  people  had  been  baffled  in  all  their  attempts 
to  secure  justice,  and  large  sums  of  money  extorted  from  them 
in  obtaining  titles  to  the  lands  they  had  improved,  and  which 
had  been  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Mexican  government. 
An  edict  of  Santa  Anna  had  demanded  of  the  people  the  sur- 
render of  their  private  arms.  This  struck  them  like  an  electric 
shock.  It  not  only  exposed  their  wives  and  children  to  the 
fury  of  hostile  Indians,  but  to  all  the  horrors  of  starvation,  for 
many  families  depended  upon  wild  game  for  daily  subsist- 
ence. 


52  A  MEXICAN  ARMY  INVADES  TEXAS. 

At  Gonzales,  there  was  a  piece  of  artillery  for  the  defence 
of  the  place,  which  was  called  into  almost  weekly  requisition 
by  the  incursions  of  the  Indians.  It  was  the  capital  of  Dewitt's 
Colony,  situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Gaudalupe,  about 
70  miles  east  of  Bexar.  In  obedience  to  Santa  Anna's  edict, 
Ugartechea,  a  Colonel  in  the  Mexican  army,  in  command  of  sev- 
eral hundred  dragoons,  marched  to  Gonzales,  from  Bexar,  to 
carry  off  the  four  pounder.  The  colonists  flocked  together  for  the 
rescue  of  the  little  field-piece.  Some  skirmishing  took  place, 
without  any  serious  consequences  at  the  moment.  But  a  great 
point  had  been  won — the  first  shot  had  been  fired  by  the  Mexi- 
can army,  and  the  swords  drawn  that  day,  were  to  be  returned 
no  more  to  their  scabbards,  till  the  last  link  in  the  Mexican  fet- 
ters which  had  been  put  on  the  youthful  form  of  Texan  Liber- 
ty, had  been  snapped  asunder,  and  she  stood  erect  among  the 
nations. 

Austin  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  struggle,  and  was  elected 
General  of  the  forces.  But  the  insurgents  not  only  rescued  their 
four  pounder,  they  resolved  to  pursue  the  enemy  to  Bexar,  and 
drive  the  base  myrmidons  of  the  Mexican  tyrant  from  their  soil. 
A  general  alarm  was  spread  to  the  banks  of  the  Sabine.  East- 
ern Texas  had  hitherto  been  disposed  to  remain  tranquil,  sup- 
posing all  might  not  be  so  bad  as  rumor  proclaimed  it ; — but 
the  torch  of  war  had  now  been  lighted,  and  Texas  rose  every- 
where like  a  single  man. 

Committees  of  Vigilance  and  of  Safety  had  been  constituted 
in  the  municipalities  of  San  Augustine  and  Nacogdoches,  and 
a  partial  organization  of  the  militia  under  their  direction  had 
taken  place.  In  the  meantime,  Houston  had  been  chosen  Gen- 
eral of  Texas,  east  of  the  Trinity.  An  invitation  had  been 
given  by  the  people  of  the  county  of  Brazoria,  and  responded 
to  by  other  Municipalities,  to  elect  delegates  to  meet  in  a  gene- 
ral Consultation  to  devise  means  of  safety,  in  the  event  of  dan- 
ger ;  for  they  had  now  become  pretty  well  satisfied  that  they  had 
little  to  hope  for  from  the  Despot  of  Mexico. 

Austin  had  proceeded  on  to  Bexar  with  his  forces,  and  invest- 
ed it.     The  colonists  marched  to  him  from  all  sections  of  the 


TEXAS  PREPARES  FOR  THE  STRUGGLE.  53 

province,  till  800  armed  men  has  joined  his  standard.  These 
events  occurred  in  October,  1835.  The  Consultation  was  to 
meet  early  in  that  month  at  Washington,  and  at  the  specified 
time  about  fifty-six  delegates  assembled.  At  their  first  meet- 
ing they  conferred,  and  changed  the  place  of  deliberation  to 
San  Felipe,  where  they  received  an  invitation  fi'om  General 
Austin  to  repair  to  Bexar,  pledging  himself,  if  they  complied. 
that  he  would  reduce  the  place  in  three  days.  After  his  ad- 
vance upon  Bexar,  citizens  residing  near  Matagorda  and  Vic- 
toria formed  a  company,  and  under  the  command  of  Captain 
CoUinsworth,  reduced  Goliad,  and  maintained  possession  of  the 
town.  On  the  first  meeting  of  the  Consultation,  General  Aus- 
tin wrote  to  Houston  to  send  on  his  Division  of  troops.  Hous- 
ton took  from  his  pocket  the  last  five  dollars  he  had  in  the 
world,  and  put  it  into  the  hand  of  a  good  rider,  with  despatches 
to  his  Division,  and  in  a  short  time  the  Redlanders  were  rapidly 
mustering  for  the  scene  of  war.  Immediately  after  having 
received  the  invtiation  of  General  Austin,  Houston,  with  the 
major  part  of  the  Consultation,  set  out  without  delay  for  Aus- 
tin's Camp,  at  the  Salado,  within  three  miles  of  Bexar. 

Soon  after  their  arrival.  General  Austin,  in  whose  pure  and 
lofty  mind  love  of  country  outweighed  all  considerations  of 
personal  aggrandizement,  feeling  diffident  to  lead  an  army  at 
such  a  time,  proposed  to  surrender  his  command  to  Houston. 
Houston  most  positively  declined  his  magnanimous  offer, 
alleging,  among  other  reasons,  that  the  troops  then  in  the  field 
were  either  those  who  had  elected  Austin  as  their  commander 
or  had  marched  to  the  camp  in  obedience  to  his  requisition, 
and  he  believed  it  would  furnish  a  pretext  for  the  seditious  and 
disaffected  to  abandon  the  service,  and  defeat  the  objects  of 
the  campaign.  But  he  frankly  offered  to  render  General  Aus- 
tin any  aid  in  his  power  in  organizing  or  drilling  his  command. 

A  Council  of  War  was  held  in  the  camp,  to  which  the 
principal  officers  and  members  of  the  Consultation  were  in- 
vited. A  question  arose  as  to  the  propriety,  or  rather  neces- 
sity, of  forming  a  Provisional  Government,  which  could  be 
done  only  by  the  re-assembling  of  the  members  of  the  Con- 


54  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONSULTATION. 

sultation  at  San  Felipe.  In  this  exigency  the  Council  of  War 
determined  to  refer  the  subject  to  the  army.  The  following 
day  the  troops  were  drawn  up  and  their  voice  taken.  They 
were  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the  Consultation  ought  to 
re-assemble  and  form  a  Provisional  Government,  and  devise 
ways  and  means  for  maintaining  the  army  then  in  the  field, 
and  adopt  such  measures  as  would  give  Texas  credit  abroad. 
After  General  Austin  had  marched  the  army  some  ten  or 
twelve  miles  below  to  the  Mission  of  Espada,  the  members  of 
the  Consultation  repaired  to  San  Felipe,  where  they  re-or- 
ganized, and  once  more  opened  their  deliberations.  They 
made  a  Provisional  Declaration,  exhorting  all  Mexicans  to 
unite  in  maintaining  the  Constitution  of  1824,  and  pledged 
their  lives,  property,  and  sacred  honor,  in  support  of  its  prin- 
ciples. They  established  an  organic  law  for  the  Provisional 
Government  of  the  Province,  and  organized  a  temporary  ad- 
ministration for  it.  Houston  was  one  of  the  Committee  to 
frame  the  Declaration.  A  disposition  existed  on  the  part  of  the 
members  of  the  Committee  to  make  a  Declaration  of  absolute 
Independence,  and  such  a  resolution  was  adopted.  Consider- 
ing this  movement  premature  and  ill-judged,  he  got  a  member 
of  the  majority  to  move  for  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote. 
By  one  of  the  ablest  efforts  of  his  life,  he  carried  his  point, 
and  on  the  trial  there  was  found  to  be  a  considerable  majority 
in  favor  of  the  Provisional  Declaration. 

These  deliberations  were  held  in  a  little  framed  building  of 
one  floor,  without  ceiling  or  plaster,  whose  only  apartment  was 
the  narrow  room  where  they  assembled.  Houston,  as  was  his 
custom  in  those  days,  was  dressed  in  buckskin  breeches,  and  a 
Mexican  blanket.  But  the  appearance  of  the  room,  and  the 
costume  of  the  members,  had  little  to  do  with  their  deliberations. 
In  regard  to  this  freak  of  Houston,  of  dressing  for  years  a  la 
sauvage,  General  Jackson  is  reported  to  have  said,  he  •'  thanked 
God  there  was  one  man,  at  least,  in  Texas  whom  thi  Almighty 
had  had  the  making  of,  and  not  the  tailor."  When  Houston 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  forests,  he  assumed  the  simple  and  pic- 
turesque costume   of  the  proud  race  among  whom  he  dwelt ; 


HOUSTON    ELECTED    COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.  55 

that  portion  of  the  world,  which  had  poured  gall  into  his  lace- 
rated bosom,  and  finally  hunted  him  into  the  forests,  now  in- 
vaded the  solitude  of  his  new  home.  One  of  his  crimes  was 
that  he  had  become  an  Indian — even  in  his  dress.  Certainly 
these  men  "  the  tailors  had  had  the  making  of" — and  he  must 
have  been  an  outlaw,  whose  dress  was  more  like  a  Roman  sena- 
tor's than  the  dandy  of  the  Boulevards. 

Some  of  Napoleon's  officers  were  once  laughing,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  one  of  his  great  battles,  at  the  gay  dress  of  Murat  as  he 
rode  by,  decked  in  ribbons  and  plumes.  "  You  may  smile, 
Messieurs,"  said  Napoleon,  "  at  my  dandy  marshal,  but  take 
care  that  when  the  columns  are  shot  down  to-day,  you  keep 
your  eye  upon  him,  for  where  you  see  Murat's  gaudy  plumes 
they  will  be  dancing  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight.  Let  a  hero 
have  one  folly,  gentlemen."  Diogenes  lived  in  a  tub,  but  from 
all  accounts  the  world  felt  a  good  deal  more  disturbed  about  it 
than  the  old  philosopher  himself. 

Yes,  Houston,  the  adopted  son  of  an  Indian  chief,  wore  the 
dress  of  his  tribe  ;  but  he  carried  the  heart  of  a  hero  under  his 
blanket.  He  refused  to  be  a  candidate  for  any  office  ;  what  he 
could  do,  however,  he  was  ready  to  do.  A  Governor  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor were  elected.  A  council  was  also  created, 
one  member  from  each  Municipality,  and  the  requisite  number 
of  officers  appointed  for  the  administration  of  such  a  govern- 
ment. The  council  was  to  continue  in  session  till  they  should 
be  superseded  by  officers  elected  by  the  people.  Measures 
were  also  taken  for  raising  a  regular  army  and  organizing  the 
militia. 

Another  event  took  place  which  decided  the  fate  of  Texas. 
The  man  in  buckskin  and  the  Mexican  blanket  was,  with  only 
one  dissenting  voice  among  more  than  fifty  members,  elected 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  armies  of  Texas. 

There  was  no  alternative  for  Houston  but  to  accept  the  office. 
There  was  no  one  else  gifted  with  those  great  qualities  nature 
lavishes  on  men  born  to  command.  He  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment, and  proceeded  to  appoint  his  staff,  and  draw  up  the 
necessary  bills  for   the  organization  of  the  army,  and  the  ap- 


56  THE    PROGRESS    OF    LIBERTY. 

pointment  of  the  officers  of  the  line,  embracing  a  'competent 
organization  of  the  forces  designed  to  be  raised. 

Texas  had  not  a  dollar  at  this  time,  and  previous  to  Houston's 
election  commissioners  had  been  appointed  to  visit  the  United 
States  to  forward  her  interests,  and  procure  a  loan  to  sustain  her 
under  the  pressure  of  her  bold  undertaking.  Austin,  Wharton, 
and  Archer  were  appointed  commissioners,  and  they  were 
already  on  their  way.  Houston's  hopes  of  money  were  not 
sanguine.  He  regarded  Texas  as  thrown  upon  her  own  re- 
sources, and  such  aids  as  could  be  afforded  by  individuals  whom 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  should  inspire  wdth  generosity.  At  that 
moment,  there  were  few  men  in  the  United  States  who  had  any 
adequate  conception  of  the  importance  of  those  early  move- 
ments, or  dreamed  of  the  results  that  were  to  follow.  Even 
now,  as  these  grand  events  of  the  last  ten  years  pass  in  review 
before  us,  we  seem,  in  the  soberness  of  solitary  reflection,  to  be 
tracing  the  progress  of  one  of  the  states  of  antiquity.  But 
there  are  few  men  who  understand  great  social  or  political 
changes  till  they  have  become  matters  of  history.  We  shall,  in 
the  sequel,  glance  at  some  of  the  causes  which  have  operated  to 
cloud  and  prejudice  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  country  on 
the  entire  subject  of  Texas. 

In  the  meantime,  General  Houston  issued  a  proclamation  in- 
viting five  thousand  volunteers  to  unite  in  the  cause  of  Texas. 
The  army  still  remained  in  the  field  under  Burleson,  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  command  after  General  Austin  had  left  for  the 
United  States.  He  was  an  early  settler  of  Texas,  and  a  good 
man  ;  but  destitute  of  those  great  qualities  which  fit  men  for 
military  control.  Before  General  Austin  left  the  army,  Fannin 
and  Bowie,  with  about  one  hundred  men,  encountered  five  hun- 
dred Mexicans  at  the  Mission  Conception.  The  action  was 
sustained  gallantly  by  the  Americans,  and  the  Mexicans  retreated, 
leaving  some  dead  on  the  field,  and  carrying  w4th  them  many 
wounded.  The  victors  then  marched  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Bexar,  and  posted  themselves  above  the  town.  Colonel  Benj. 
R.  Milam,  who  had  then  no  command  in  the  Army,  proposed 
that  volunteers  should  turn  out,  who  were  willing  to  enter  the 
town   of   Bexar  and   storm  the   place.      About  two   hundred 


MILAM    AND    IIIS    HEROIC    BAND.  57 

flocked  to  his  banner,  and  led  by  the  gallant  Milam,  whose 
chivalry  entitled  him  to  the  confidence  of  such  brave  men,  en- 
tered the  town  at  night,  and  taking  possession  of  certain  build- 
ings, made  their  way  with  crowbars  through  the  walls,  from 
house  to  house.  After  performing  acts  of  singular  bravery  for 
several  days,  the  heroic  Milam  fell,  his  head  pierced  by  a 
rifle-ball ;  and  shortly  after  their  leader's  death,  the  troops  got 
entire  possession  of  the  town,  and  the  Alamo  (the  enemy's 
fortress)  capitulated. 

A  singular  spectacle  was  presented  on  the  morning  of  the 
capitulation.  Not  less  than  eleven  hundred  Mexican  soldiers 
passed  before  a  little  band  of  less  than  two  hundred  Texians, 
and  laid  down  their  arms.  They  were  released  on  their  parole 
of  honor,  and  marched  to  Mexico  by  General  Cos.  This  same 
General  violated  his  faith,  and  fought  at  San  Jacinto.  The 
colonists  were  now  generally  discharged,  and  marched  to  their 
homes,  with  the  exception  of  the  gallant  company  which  had 
reduced  the  Alamo.  During  the  siege  of  Bexar,  a  company 
called  the  New  Orleans  Greys,  under  Captain  Morris,  and 
another  company  from  Mobile,  under  Captain  Breeze,  had 
arrived,  as  volunteers  from  the  United  States.  They  bore  a 
gallant  part  in  the  siege,  and  every  man  engaged  in  the  town 
deserved  and  secured  the  renown  of  a  hero. 

While  the  troops  were  before  Bexar,  a  Doctor  Grant  arrived, 
and  joined  the  army.  He  had  been  concerned  with  an  English 
Mining  Company  at  Parras,  but  he  had  fallen  under  the  displeasure 
of  the  Mexican  Government,  and  was  obliged  to  fly.  He  was  a 
Scotsman  by  birth,  but  did  not  seem  to  possess  much  of  the  metho- 
dical shrewdness  which  characterizes  that  nation.  He  was  a  man 
of  much  more  than  ordinary  capacity,  but,  in  all  military  affairs, 
seemed  to  be  destitute  of  judgment  and  discretion.  As  one  of 
the  aids  of  General  Austin,  he  claimed  the  command  of  the 
troops  remaining,  after  Burleson  had  retired  with  most  of  the 
army.  He  immediately  projected  the  invasion  of  Matamoras, 
for  he  entertained  a  single-hearted  hatred  of  the  Mexicans,  and 
he  induced  the  New  Orleans  Greys  and  Capt.  Breeze's  company 
from  Mobile  to  join  him  in  the  expedition.  These  two  compa- 
nies accordingly  took  up  their  march  for  Matamoras  by  the  way 


58  INTRIGUES    AGAINST    HOUSTON. 

of  Goliad.  At  the  same  time  Grant  opened  a  correspondence 
with  the  General  Council,  which  unfortunately  at  the  time  con- 
tained some  man  of  capacity  utterly  destitute  of  moral  princi- 
ple, and  carrying  on  machinations  which  were  in  the  end  to 
terminate  most  disastrously  for  Texas.  The  members  of  the 
Military  Committee  of  the  General  Council  coincided  with 
Grant's  plan  of  attack  upon  Matamoras,  and  thought  it  neces- 
sary, in  effecting  its  capture,  to  destroy  Houston's  influence,  and 
create  a  power  that  would  supersede  him. 

In  the  appointment  of  his  staff.  General  Houston  had  chosen 
J.  W.  Fannin,  Jr.,  his  Inspector  General.  He  had  had  command 
at  the  battle  of  the  Mission  of  Conception,  and  arriving  at  the 
Council  of  San  Felipe,  Houston,  who  felt  that  he  deserved  an 
appointment  in  the  line  of  the  army,  obtained  for  him  the  Colo- 
nelcy of  the  regiment  of  artillery,  which  placed  him  next  in 
command  to  himself. 

The  Council,  to  effect  their  designs  without  reference  to  the 
safety  of  the  country,  thought  proper  to  direct  the  head-quarters 
of  the  army  to  be  established  at  Washington,  about  fifty  miles 
distant  from  the  sessions  of  the  Council.  This,  of  necessity, 
removed  Houston's  station,  and  it  was  evident  they  believed  the 
success  of  their  intrigues  depended  upon  getting  him  as  far  off  as 
possible.  About  the  middle  of  December  he  repaired  to  Wash- 
ington, and  continued  there,  engaged  in  his  arduous  duties. 
Meantime  he  had  assigned  the  officers  of  the  regular  army  to 
their  several  recruiting  stations,  and  directed  them  to  make 
such  reports  as  would  enable  him,  at  any  time,  to  know^  the 
amount  and  condition  of  the  regular  force. 

Fannin  was  ordered  to  Brazoria,  the  principal  recruiting  ren- 
dezvous, and  Houston  supposed,  of  course,  that  his  orders  would 
be  carried  out  with  a  strict  regard  to  his  authority.  But  his 
despatches  w^ere  utterly  disregarded.  About  this  time  letters 
were  circulated  through  the  country  to  create  a  suspicion,  that 
Houston's  design  was  to  establish  a  military  government  by  rais- 
ing five  thousand  volunteers,  through  the  sanction  of  the  Gene- 
ral Council. 

Houston  bore  this  in  silence,  but  endeavored  to  counteract  it 
by  the  eflSciency  of  his  conduct.     About  the  1st  of  January  he 


INSUBORDINATION    AND    CONSPIRACY.  59 

received  orders  from  Governor  Smith, — who  had  detected  the 
secret  intrigues  of  the  Council  with  Grant,  Fannin  and  others — 
to  repair  to  San  Felipe,  while  the  General  had  been  at  Wash- 
ington. Colonel  Ward's  command  from  Georgia,  and  the  Ala- 
bamians,  had  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Brazos.  Houston  had 
taken  precautions,  and  issued  his  orders  for  all  troops  that  might 
arrive  in  the  country,  requiring  them  to  report  to  the  Governor 
as  nominal  Commander  in  Chief,  and  to  himself  as  Commander 
of  the  army,  on  their  arrival.  Fannin  being  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  United  States  volunteers  when  they  landed,  paid  no 
attention  to  the  orders  of  General  Houston,  and  abandoning  his 
post  as  an  officer  of  the  Regular  Army,  became  a  candidate  for 
the  Colonelcy  of  the  Regiment  that  was  to  be  formed  by  the 
union  of  the  Georgia  and  Alabama  troops.  Governor  Smith  no 
sooner  detected  the  treasonable  conspiracy  of  the  Council,  than 
he  manifested  the  highest  disapprobation  of  their  conduct,  and 
of  course  excited  their  hottest  displeasure.  Fannin  treated  all 
General  Houston's  despatches  with  cool  contempt,  and  looked 
only  to  the  orders  of  the  Council.  He  had  made  know^n  to 
them  his  desire  to  be  elected  Colonel  of  the  new  Regiment,  and 
in  accordance  with  their  views,  he  was  chosen  to  the  new  post. 
Ward  being  put  second  in  command.  They  were  then  ordered 
to  sail  from  Velasco  to  Copano,  and  thence  to  march  to  Refugio 
Mission,  twenty  miles  distant  from  their  landing,  where  Grant 
was  to  join  them  with  his  command,  on  their  way  to  Matamoras. 
In  obedience  to  his  orders,  Houston  reported  to  the  Governor 
at  San  Felipe,  and  was  ordered  to  repair  to  Refugio,  where  a 
juncture  of  the  troops  was  to  be  effected.  He  returned  forthwith 
to  Washington,  and  after  arranging  matters  at  head-quarters, 
proceeded  to  the  execution  of  the  Governor's  orders.  He 
reached  Goliad  about  the  middle  of  January,  1836,  and  found 
Grant  and  his  troops  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  Refugio. 
General  Houston  made  known  to  the  troops  the  orders  under 
which  he  was  acting,  and  urged  obedience  to  his  author- 
ity. Ignorant  of  the  extent  to  which  the  Council  had  gone 
in  thwarting  his  intentions  to  save  the  country  by  routing 
the    enemy    on   their    first  great    engagement,  and   knowing 


60  FATAL  RESULTS  OF  DISOBEYING  HOUSTON'S    ORDERS. 

it  was  impossible  for  the  troops  at  Bexar  to  maintain  the  place, 
he  despatched  Colonels  Bowie  and  Bonham  (of  South  Carolina) 
on  the  15th  of  January,  with  an  escort  to  Bexar,  directing  the 
commanding  officer  to  blow  up  the  Alamo,  and  fall  back  to  Gon- 
zalez on  the  Guadalupe,  which  he  intended  to  make  the  line 
of  defence. 

Grant  and  Morris  refused  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  Go- 
vernor, while  Houston  was  left  without  the  power  of  accounting 
for  their  extraordinary  conduct.  He  marched  with  them  twenty- 
five  miles  to  Refugio  Mission,  leaving  a  few  Regulars  to  main- 
tain the  post  at  Goliad,  with  no  subsistence  but  the  cattle  of  the 
country.  He  arrived  at  Refugio,  but  no  intelligence  had  come 
of  Fannin's  landing. 

The  Governor,  refusing  to  concur  in  their  lawless  measures, 
had  been  deposed  by  the  Council,  although — under  the  Organic 
Law,  which  required  a  certain  number  to  constitute  the  Council, 
or  transact  business — they  had  ceased  to  be  a  lawful  Body. 
The  conduct  of  the  stormy  spirits  in  that  Council  had  disgusted 
and  enraged  their  more  patriotic  and  rational  colleagues,  and  unwil- 
ling to  concur  in  their  high-handed  and  treacherous  movements, 
they  had  withdrawn,  reducing  their  ambitious  associates  to  an 
incompetent  number.  But  they  were  nevertheless  determined 
to  brave  it  out,  and  "  rule  or  rend." 

Houston  did  not  wish  to  be  the  cause  of  insubordination,  for 
be  was  aware  that  it  would  require  all  the  harmony  and  union 
possible  to  save  the  country.  Yet  knowing  that  all  the  troops 
from  the  United  States  had  left  with  the  expectation  of  serving 
under  himself,  he  used  every  persuasive  he  thought  convinc- 
ing against  the  expedition  to  Matamoras,  and  then  resolved  to 
return  and  report  in  person  to  the  Governor. 

The  only  object  of  the  Council  in  directing  the  campaign 
upon  Matamoras,  was  to  command  the  revenues  of  the  place. 
Houston  at  once  discovered  the  absurdity  of  such  a  plan,  since 
the  possession  of  Matamoras  by  an  enemy  would  cut  off  all 
intercourse  with  the  interior,  and  prevent  all  communication 
with  the  sea,  and  he  had  forecast  enough  to  know  that  if  an 
army  could  reach  Matamoras  without  opposition,  they  could 
not  maintain  it  a  single  week  with  a  force  of  only  seven  hun- 


ATTEMPTS    TO    CRUSH    HOUSTON.  61 

dred  men.  But  they  could  never  reach  sight  of  its  walls. 
They  had  an  area  of  several  hundred  miles  to  pass,  with  no 
means  of  transportation — they  had  not  three  days  of  bread- 
stuffs,  and  the  men  were  unprovided  in  every  respect  for  a 
campaign. 

Houston  remonstrated  with  the  officers  in  a  friendly  man- 
ner, representing  the  great  difficulties  they  would  have  to  en- 
counter, the  futility  of  the  project,  and  the  disasters  attendant 
on  a  failure.  So  careful  was  he  to  avoid  exciting  sedition 
among  the  troops,  who  bowed  very  reluctantly  to  the  command 
of  any  other  General,  that  he  set  out  from  Refugio  in  the  night, 
with  a  few  of  his  staff,  for  San  Felipe. 

On  the  road  he  received  news  that  the  Council  had  deposed 
the  Governor  and  superseded  his  own  authority — also,  letters 
of  Col.  Fannin,  which  had  been  published,  showing  his  reli- 
ance on  the  Council,  and  disregarding  all  other  authorities. 
This  opened  Houston's  eyes  to  the  true  situation  of  the  coun- 
try, and  he  saw  that  unless  something  was  done,  without  de- 
lay, to  repair  the  evil,  and  to  prepare  the  nation  for  the  trying 
struggle  she  must  pass,  in  wading  through  a  Revolution,  all 
would  be  lost  The  hopes,  which  had  greeted  the  first  dawn- 
ing of  Anglo-Saxon  Liberty  in  the  fair  province  of  New  Es- 
tramadura,  seemed  likely  to  be  extinguished  ;  and  it  is  not 
strange  that  a  man  who  had  been  prevailed  on  to  exchange 
the  tranquillity  of  a  forest  life,  where  he  could  find  repose  from 
persecution,  to  mingle  in  the  struggles  of  a  nation  emerging 
into  a  free  existence,  should,  when  he  saw  himself  still  hunted 
down  by  malignant  rivals,  and  his  hopes  clouded,  feel  his 
great  heart  dejected  by  sadness. 

But  men  whom  God  raises  up  to  become  leaders  of  Na- 
tions, cannot  be  crushed — and  although  in  the  midst  of  their 
adversities  they  may  seem,  for  a  moment,  to  bow  before  the 
blast,  yet  they  never  despair.  For  not  more  sure  was  Colum- 
bus to  surmount  at  last  all  opposition,  and  plant  his  feet  upon 
the  green  shores  of  the  New  World,  than  are  such  men  in  the 
end  to  overcome  all  their  foes,  and  triumph  over  even  the  ma- 
lignity of  fortune.     All  the  way  to  San  Felipe,  he  Was  halting 


62 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


in  the  most  painful  suspense — whether  to  withdraw  once  more 
from  the  treacheries  and  persecutions  of  the  world,  and  bury 
himself  deep  in  the  holy  solitudes  of  nature,  and  pass  a  life  of 
communion  with  the  Great  Spirit,  and  his  beautiful  creations, 
or  whether  he  should  boldly  mark  out  a  track  for  himself,  and 
in  leading  a  new  people  to  National  Independence,  trample 
down  all  opposition.  During  most  of  the  day  he  rode  along 
in  silence,  and  none  of  his  companions  disturbed  his  reveries. 
Towards  evening  he  addressed  them — he  made  a  rapid  but 
clear  survey  of  events  that  had  passed — contemplated  the  pre- 
sent slate  of  affairs,  and  dwelt  upon  the  future  prospects 
of  Texas  with  enthusiasm.  He  seemed  to  read  her  future 
as  the  ancient  prophets  did  the  history  of  Judah.  He  had 
fixed  his  purpose,  and  all  the  world  could  not  move  him. 
After  making  an  official  report  to  the  Governor,  he  proceeded 
with  his  Aide-de-Camp,  Major  Hockley. to  the  Cherokee  Nation, 
in  pursuance  of  instructions  received  from  the  Consultation,  to 
form  treaties  with  that  and  other  Indian  tribes.  He  met  the 
Indians  in  Council,  and  having  been  returned  as  a  Delegate  to 
the  Convention  which  was  to  meet  in  Washington  on  the  1st 
of  March,  he  arrived  there  the  day  previous.  The  Conven- 
tion assembled  and  organized,  and  the  following  dav,  the  2d 
of  March,  1836,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
adopted  and  signed. 


AMERICAN    HOSTILITY    TO    TEXAS.  63 


CHAPTER     VII 


THE     GENERAL. 


The  Declaration  of  Independence,  for  which  public  feeling 
had  been  precipitately  matured,  was  adopted  unanimously, 
and  hailed  throughout  Texas  with  joy  and  acclamation.  So 
was  it  received,  too,  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  wher- 
ever they  had  even  a  faint  conception  of  the  issue  made  in  the 
struggle,  or  the  vast  magnitude  of  the  consequences  that  were 
to  follow. 

But  from  the  hour  the  news  that  Texas  had  declared  herself 
free  and  independent  reached  the  United   States,  a  feeling  of 
hostility   was  excited  against   the  Infant   Republic,  without  a 
parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.      Losing  sight  of  the  grand 
moral  results  that  were  to  flow  from  that  event,  and  unmind- 
ful even  of  the  hour  of  our  own  heroism,  when  we  extended  our 
feeble  hands  to  France  for  help,  a  chorus  burst  of  indignation 
went  up  from  a  thousand  newspapers,  and  everywhere  the  De- 
claration of  Texian  Independence  was  declared  to  be  an  act  of 
high-handed  robbery,  perpetrated  by  a  band  of  bold  outlaws. 
To  have  emigrated  to  that  part  of  the  world  was  enough  to  brand 
a  man  with  infamy  ;  and  those  who  gave  the  little  they  could 
afford  to  help  on  the  struggle,  cast  their  mite  into  the  Texian 
Treasury  in  silence.      All  recollection  of   our  fathers  and  the 
days    of    their  dark    struggles   seemed   to   be    as    completely 
obliterated  from  the  memory  of   many  of  our  countrymen,  as 
though  they  had  been  swept  by  the  waters  of  oblivion.     We 
forgot  that  the  men,  who  were  fighting  those  battles,  were  many 
of  them  descended  from  the  early  settlers  of  Jamestown  and 
Plymouth ;    that  hearts  were  nerved  there  for  the  defence  of 
liberty,  whose  lathers  had  poured  out  their  blood  at  Yorktown 
and  Saratoga,  and  Bennington,   and  Bunker  Hill !     And  who 
were  the  men  that  joined  in  this  ten  years'  crusade  against  the 
liberties  of  a  Sister  Republic?     And  how  would  the  victors  of 
San  Jacinto  have  been  laughed  away  by  them  in  scorn  from  our 


64  THE    CRISIS    COMING. 

altars  of  confederate  freedom,  if  they  had  not  themselves  been 
crushed  by  the  simultaneous  rising  of  an  indignant  people  at 
the  last  Election '. 

Some  days  before  the  Declaration  was  adopted,  letters  had 
heen  received  from  Travis,  in  command  of  the  Alamo  at  Bexar, 
notifying  the  people  of  Texas,  for  there  were  then  no  chief 
authorities  of  the  country,  that  he  was  invested  by  a  numerous 
force  in  the  Alamo,  calling  loudly  for  help.  Houston,  it  will 
be  remembered,  anticipating  this  very  result,  had  given  orders 
to  the  commanding  officer  to  abandon  and  blow  up  the  Alamo ; 
but  his  orders  had  been  disobeyed  by  the  officer,  and  treated 
with  contempt  by  the  General  Council,  who  had  ordered  the 
commander  to  defend  the  place  to  the  last,  promising  to  reinforce 
him.  And  now  the  brave  men  in  the  Alamo  were  to  atone  for 
the  treachery  and  low  ambition  of  a  few  selfish  men.  The  pro- 
mised reinforcement  was  limited  to  thirty  men,  making  Travis' 
whole  effective  force  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  eighty-five, 
and  they  without  a  month's  provisions,  detached  from  all  Texian 
settlements  more  than  seventy  miles,  and  the  intervening  terri- 
tory swept  by  the  Mexican  cavalry. 

As  the  Provisional  Government,  by  which  Houston  had  been 
elected  Commander-in-Chief,  had  ceased  when  the  Convention 
assembled,  he  resigned  his  Major-Generalship.  But  there  was  no 
other  man  in  Texas  to  whom  the  people  could  look  in  this  emer- 
gency. The  Convention  went  into  the  election  of  a  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  out  of  fifty-six  votes,  Houston,  who  was  not  pre- 
sent, received  all  but  one  vote.  Texas  had  no  organization  of 
forces,  and  the  few  gallant  m.en  from  Georgia  and  Alabama  in 
the  field  were  detached  beyond  the  southern  settlements,  under 
the  command  of  a  man  who  had  treated  the  orders  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief with  contempt.  The  treatment  Houston  had 
received  from  the  Council  was  known,  and  the  people  feared  he 
would  decline  the  office.  A  deep  gloom  now  hung  over  the 
public  mind.  Apprehension  and  alarm  were  wTitten  on  every 
face,  and  the  conviction  became  almost  universal  that  the  cause 
of  Texian  Independence  was  lost  unless  Houston  would  accept 
the  command  of  the  Army.  Impressed  with  the  general  feel- 
ing, and  stirred  by  the  heroic  spirit  which  has  always  guided 


THE    FALL    OF    THE    ALAMO.  65 

him,  he  resolved  to  peril  everything,  and  stake  life  itself  upon, 
the  issue,  and  he  accepted  the  command. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th  of  March,  a  letter  was  received  from 
Col.  Travis,  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  Convention, 
brought  by  the  last  express  that  ever  left  the  Alamo.  The 
intelligence  it  conveyed  was  no  sooner  known,  than  an  electric 
terror  flashed  through  the  community.  The  members,  and  a 
crowd  of  spectators,  rushed  to  the  Hall  of  the  Convention,  the 
President  to  his  chair,  the  Members  to  their  seats,  without  sum- 
mons or  signal.  The  President  rose,  and  announced  the  re- 
ceipt of  a  document  of  the  most  important  character  ever  re- 
ceived by  any  assembly  of  men.  He  then  read  a  letter  from 
Col.  Travis,  of  the  most  thrilling  character.  It  was  written  in 
all  the  fervor  of  patriotic  and  devoted  courage ;  but  it  breathed 
the  language  of  despair.  Robert  Potter  rose,  and  moved  that 
"  the  Convention  do  immediately  adjourn,  arm,  and  march  to 
the  relief  of  the  Alamo."  Houston,  feeling  that  the  next  move- 
ment made  in  the  Convention  would  be  likely  to  decide  the 
fate  of  Texas,  determined  what  should  be  done  by  the  Con- 
vention as  well  as  by  himself 

All  eyes  were  turned  upon  him,  and  as  he  rose  from  his 
seat,  it  would  seem  that,  for  a  moment,  every  heart  in  the  as- 
sembly stopped  beating.  He  opposed  the  motion,  and  de- 
nounced it  as  madness,  worse  than  treason,  to  the  people. 
They  had,  to  be  sure,  declared  themselves  independent ;  but 
they  had  yet  no  organization.  There  must  be  a  government, 
and  it  must  have  organic  form — without  it,  they  would  be  no- 
thing but  outlaws,  and  could  hope  neither  for  the  sympathy 
nor  respect  of  mankind.  He  spoke  nearly  an  hour,  and 
his  appeal,  if  he  ever  was  eloquent,  was  eloquence  itself.  He 
admonished  the  Convention  of  the  peril  of  the  country;  he 
advised  them  to  sit  calmly,  and  firmly  and  coolly  pursue  their 
deliberations  ;  to  be  wise  and  patriotic ;  to  feel  no  alarm,  and 
he  pledged  himself  instantly  to  repair  to  Gonzalez,  where  he 
had  heard  that  a  small  corps  of  militia  had  rallied,  and  inter- 
pose them  between  the  Convention  and  the  enemy ;  and  while 
they  chose  to  sit  in  Convention,  the  Mexicans  should  never 


66  HOUSTON  STARTS  FOR  THE  SCENE  OF  CONFLICT. 

approach  them  unless  they  marched  over  his  dead  body.  In 
the  meantime,  if  mortal  power  could  avail,  he  would  relieve 
the  brave  men  in  the  Alamo. 

Houston  stopped  speaking,  and  walked  immediately  out  of 
the  Convention,  In  less  than  an  hour  he  was  mounted  on  his 
battle  horse,  and  with  three  or  four  brave  companions  was  on 
his  way  to  the  Alamo.  Men  looked  upon  it  as  an  idle  and 
desperate  attempt,  or  surely  more  would  have  followed  him. 
The  party  rode  hard  that  day,  and  only  stopped  late  at  night 
to  rest  their  horses.  They  were  now  in  the  open  prairie.  At 
break  of  day,  Houston  retired  some  distance  from  the  party, 
and  listened  intensely,  as  if  expecting  a  distant  signal.  CoL 
Travis  had  stated  in  his  letters,  that  as  long  as  the  Alamo 
could  hold  out  against  the  invaders,  signal  guns  would  be 
fired  at  sunrise.  It  is  a  well  authenticated  fact,  that  for  many 
successive  days,  these  guns  had  been  heard  at  a  distance  of 
nearly  two  hundred  miles  across  the  prairie — and  being  now 
within  the  reach  of  their  sound,  Houston  was  anxiously  wait- 
ing for  the  expected  signal.  The  day  before,  like  many  pre- 
ceding it,  a  dull,  rumbling  murmur  had  come  booming  over 
the  prairie  like  distant  thunder.  He  listened  with  an  acute- 
ness  of  sense  which  no  man  can  understand  but  one  whose 
hearing  has  been  sharpened  by  the  teachings  of  the  dwellers 
of  the  forest,  and  who  is  awaiting  a  signal  of  life  or  death  from 
brave  men.  He  listened  in  vain.  Not  the  faintest  murmur 
came  floating  on  the  calm,  morning  air.  He  knew  the  Alamo 
had  fallen,  and  he  returned  to  tell  his  companions.  The  event 
confirmed  his  convictions,  for  the  Alamo  had  fired  its  last  gun 
the  morning  he  left  Washington ;  and  at  the  very  moment  he 
was  speaking  in  the  Convention,  those  brave  men  were  meet" 
ing  their  fate.  After  returning  to  his  companions,  who  were 
preparing  to  pursue  their  march,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Con- 
vention recommending  them  to  adopt  a  resolution  declaring- 
Texas  a  part  of  Louisiana  under  the  Treaty  of  1803.  His 
suggestion  was  not  adopted,  but  if  he  had  been  there  to  eu" 
force  it  by  his  commanding  eloquence,  it  would  doubtless  have 
been  passed — for  in  those  deliberative  assemblies  be  was  as 


CAUSE?    OF    THE    PRESENT    WAR.  67 

absolute  as  ever  Cromwell  was  in  the  Rump  Parliament,  with 
a  thousand  bayonets  at  his  back.  In  this  case,  too,  he  would 
have  had  the  means  of  conviction  in  the  policy  he  proposed. 
Such  a  measure  would  have  won  for  them  the  sympathies  of 
Legislatures  as  well  as  peoples.  They  would  not  then  have 
been  regarded  as  a  separate  people.  It  would  have  matured 
the  Republic  and  its  institutions  ;  it  would  have  shortened  the 
period  of  her  struggles.  Neither  the  question  of  recognition 
nor  annexation  would  have  been  raised — she  would  have  been 
adopted  at  once.  Houston  looked  at  the  whole  matter 
with  the  eye  of  a  statesman  and  the  heart  of  a  soldier.  He 
knew  that  Mexico  would  have  withdrawn  at  once  from  the 
conflict,  if  Texas  had  at  once  been  constituted  a  part  of 
Louisiana. 

If,  then,  it  be  asked,  why  Mexico  has,  at  last,  not  only 
made  war  upon  Texas,  after  the  Great  Powers  recognized  her 
independence,  but  against  the  United  States  after  annexation 
we  answer,  that  there  is  no  man  who  knows  enough  about 
this  subject  to  qualify  him  to  hazard  an  opinion  who  does 
not  understand  and  believe  that  Mexico  has  been  emboldened  to 
provoke  the  war,  only  because  of  the  long,  powerful,  perse- 
vering, and  desperate  hostility  with  which  a  thousand  news- 
papers and  a  thousand  public  men,  in  this  country,  have  resisted 
the  annexation.  These  presses  and  these  public  men  have 
held  the  very  same  language,  and  displayed  the  very  same 
spirit  towards  Texas,  that  Santa  Anna,  and  Bravo,  and  Busta- 
mente,  and  Almonte,  and  Herrera,  and  Paredes,  and  their 
hireling  presses,  have  done.  In  fact,  the  hopes  of  these  mili- 
tary despots  have  all  rested  upon  the  efforts  of  the  enemies  of 
Texas  in  the  United  States,  and  not  upon  their  popularity  at 
home,  or  the  power  of  their  cannon,  or  the  justice  of  their 
cause.  In  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  and  Boston,  they 
have  stationed  their  most  trustworthy  and  confidential  agents ; 
here  they  have  expended  their  money,"  and  here  their  batdes 
have  been  fought.  Who  of  those  bold,  impudent  tyrants 
would  have  dared  to  tread  upon  a  single  fold  of  the  mantle 
that  wrapped  the  youthful  form  of  Texian  Liberty,  if  its  very 


68  HOUSTON    ORGANIZES    THE    ARMY. 

name  had  not  been  made  a  by-word  among  the  children  of 
the  heroes  of  '76.  It  is  known  that  Paredes  never  appre- 
hended any  danger  of  being  brought  to  battle ;  he  never  ex- 
pected he  would  be  called  on  to  make  good  his  braggart 
threats.  And  now  when  this  mad  hostility  against  Texas  has 
been  frowned  down  by  the  American  people,  and  its  grand 
movers  are  glad  enough  of  the  first  chance  that  is  offered  to 
redeem  their  American  character,  they  throw  off  the 
Mexican  disguise  and  vote  the  ten  millions  and  the  fifty 
thousand  volunteers  with  loud  huzzas,  throw  up  their  cap  to 
the  heroes  of  Palo  Alto  and  La  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and 
wish  to  make  the  hero  of  this  "  accursed  war  "  President  of  the 
United  States.  And  of  all  the  boasters  and  bullies  who 
damned  Mr.  Polk  for  sending  the  heroic  Taylor  to  the  Rio 
Grande,  not  one  of  them  all  has  dared  to  open  his  mouth 
against  the  war  after  the  first  victory,  except  the  editor  of  the 
New  York  Tribune,  who,  with  all  his  non-resistance  principles 
and  all  his  other  isms,  has  shown  that  he  possesses  more 
genuine  courage  than  the  whole  phalanx  together.  "  Oh ! 
shame,  where  is  thy  blush  " — and  echo  answers  where  ? 

The  Alamo  had  fired  its  last  gun,  and  its  brave  defenders 
had  met  their  fate.  But  Houston  proceeded  to  Gonzales,  al- 
though not  a  man  joined  him  on  the  road.  On  setting  out 
from  the  Convention,  he  despatched  an  express  to  Fannin,  di- 
recting him  to  form  a  junction  with  him  on  the  Cibolo,  a  small 
river  between  Gonzales  and  San  Antonio,  intending  with  the 
united  forces  to  march  to  the  relief  of  the  Alamo.  About  the 
lOlh  of  March  (1836)  he  reached  Gonzalez,  where  he  found 
374  men.  They  were  without  organization,  and  destitute  of 
supplies — they  were  neither  armed  nor  clad  for  the  campaign. 
He  at  once  had  them  assembled  and  organized,  the  men  electing 
their  own  officers.  Scouts  who  had  been  dispatched  to  the 
neighborhood  of  San  Antonio,  returned  about  the  time  of 
Houston's  arrival,  vinder  the  impression  that  the  Alamo  had 
fallen.  This  created  some  sensation  among  the  troops,  and 
immediately  afterwards  two  Mexicans,  whose  families  had  re- 
sided among  the  American  colonists,  came  in  from  the  region 


THE    FALL    OF    THE    ALAMO,  69 

of  San  Antonio  and  confirmed  the  general  apprehension. 
Houston,  who  was  satisfied  that  their  statement  was  correct, 
had  it  written  down.  It  represented  that  the  Alamo  had  been 
taken  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  March,  and  every  human 
being  in  it  slaughtered,  except  a  woman,  her  child,  and  a  ne- 
gro :  that  after  their  slaughter,  the  dead  had  been  dragged 
out  and  piled  together  with  wood  in  one  vast  hecatomb,  and 
burned  to  ashes. 

When  the  news  of  this  act  of  cold-blooded  barbarity  flew 
through  the  colonies,  it  stirred  up  a  spirit  that  would  never 
sleep  again.  But  the  day  of  vengeance  was  rapidly  coming — 
the  hour  of  San  Jacinto  was  not  far  off.  Houston  immedi- 
ately sent  another  express  to  Fannin  (March  llth),  apprising 
him  of  the  fall  of  the  Alamo,  and  ordering  him  to  evacuate 
Goliad,  blow  up  the  fortress,  and  fall  back  without  delay  upon 
Victoria  and  the  Gaudelupe.  This  would  unite  all  the  forces 
then  in  the  field,  which  Houston  regarded  as  the  only  means 
of  saving  Texas.  Fannin's  force,  the  General  estimated  at  over 
500,  and  once  joined  to  his  own,  the  army  would  number  at 
least  900  effective  men,  since  Fannin  had  a  fine  supply  of  arms 
brought  from  the  United  States. 

This  order  reached  Fannin  some  eight  days  before  he  at- 
tempted a  retreat;  indeed  he  did  not  attempt  it  at  all,  till  he 
had  been  surrounded  by  the  Mexic-ans  several  days.  In  reply 
to  the  orders  of  the  commander-in-chief,  Fannin  sent  an  ex- 
press, saying  he  had  held  a  council  of  war,  and  had  concluded 
to  defend  the  place,  and  had  named  it  Fort  Defiance.  He 
also  said,  he  was  prepared  to  abide  the  consequences  of  dis- 
obeying his  orders.  The  sequel  showed  but  too  well  how 
prophetic  was  the  glance  Houston  cast  over  the  future. 

On  the  twelfth  (we  believe)  of  March,  about  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  Mrs.  Dickinson  arrived  with  her  child  at  Gen.  Hous- 
ton's camp,  accompanied  by  two  negro  guides,  sent  to  attend 
her  by  Santa  Anna,  and  also  to  bring  a  proclamation  of  pardon 
to  the  insurgent  colonists,  if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms. 
The  proclamation  was,  of  course,  treated  as  such  papers  had 
been  by  our  fathers,  when  they  were  sent  to  their  camps  of 


70  CONSTKRNATION    IN    THK    CAMP. 

Hudrrinjcj  by  tho  luynnidmi  grnrral  of  a  l^ritish  king.  Mu 
DirUiiison  was  the  wilo  o(  one  oi  \\\o  bravo  oltioors  whoe 
hours  hu<l  rrmnblrtl  on  the  saoriluMal  |>yro  of  tho  Alam^ 
Houslon  was  walking  aU>iio, a  fow  huiulnnl  yanlsfroin  thooain^ 
at  tho  inoinoiit  this  striokoii  an<J  l>oroavoti  inoRsontyi^r  arrixj. 
lie  nMiiriictl  f^oow  afior,  and  fomul  that  hor  foarful  narrativo  ( 
Uin  butohoriMij;  and  bnrninc,  with  soino  of  tho  most  stirring  u* 
tails  of  that  dark  Iragotiy,  had  alroady  siriiok  tho  sol<b«^rs  wh 
a  rhill  o(  horror;  and  whon  sho  told  thorn  that  rnHH)  mon  \v«? 
ndvanoing  by  fon^otl  nianMios,  and  ihoir  arlillory  woxild  !»oo 
bo  h«\ard  at  (»oti7.ah'!«,  tho  wildont  oonstornation  sproad  thro\»« 
tho  oan\p.  Thoir  alarm  }*oo\\  roaoln^d  a  piioh  of  do?|x^mii(n 
Homo  won'  slnnnod  with  silonoo.  othors  woro  wild  wiih  i- 
luonlation.'*,  and  ovon  ollioors  had  ^ot  tiro  to  thoir  tonts. 

\N  Inn  Uo)i!«ton  oamo  ttp.  Iu>  ordorfd  silom-^,  and  tho  lire-  \ 
bo  oMingnisho*!.  Wo  tin  n  addn^ssod  tho  soldiory  in  tho 
forvid  mannor,  an«hhoy  all  gathon^l  ar\nin<t  him,  ovoopi  a  ic* 
who  had  at  tho  Itrst  impiil.«o  (lod  ft>r  thoir  horjH^^.  \\r  vu 
taohod  a  mianl  instantly  to  mtorivpt  fugitivos,  and  tuoro  thni 
twonty  wort'  brotighl  bark  snoaking  to  tho  oamp.  Hut  a  1©» 
^mh\  r«mnors  mado  thoir  O5oaj>o  to  ihr  sottlomonls  and  carrifr 
pajuo  in  ovory  dirootion! 

Tho  (Jonoral  atmonnood  to  his  oomrados  that  ho  shonKi  ;ur 
night  fall  baok   to  a  wxow  sivtjro  position,  a«  thoy  wow   in 
bond  o(  iho  rivor,  whoiv  tlto  onomy,  by  orossiug.  o.>n'.?  .  n!  i/ 
nil   po!«siblo   nMn^at.      AtVt^rxlingly.  aKntt   olovon   . 
night.  Houston   onlo»v»l  ovory  light  in  l^xMualo'S  to  Iv^  < 
gut<>hod,and  loaving  aroargtianl  wtth  orvlcrsto  u!h»  tlw»  v 
vigilan»v  and  giw  information  of  tln^  tirst  a|'v^>roaoh  i>f  th 
ononty,  bo  oimIomhI  tho  oamp  to  he  strnok.  and  tho  littK^  : 
took   «p  thoir  lin«»  of  mar*0\   in   g\H\i  onior.     <)n  i 
HtNn^alos.  fooling  assunsi  that   iIxmI 
lowod.  won'    tno\      '      .  ho   had   onion  m   ah  lao    \ 
ctnldn'n    to    bo    ...,,.,  ,>rt«Hi    to    tho    iniorii-vr    srUi.  -. 

^hn^^^ghoMt   tho  ontm^    Toxinn  !>in^ .'.-''    ^.'  w^s  n  s,'^\<  .■ 
tho  holplo>!«  wbo\»ld  Movor  1h»  lof^   .  lor  monnof  r 

Movtoanji.     Uolon-  tho  cfi»ij»  oAmo,  lw»   hojvxl  tho  inm>; 


A  night's  march.  71 

would  return,  but  in  this  he  was  disappointed,  and  that  night 
the  entire  army  was  followed  by  only  one  baggage  wagon, 
which  was  drawn  by  four  oxen. 

He  continued  his  march  that  night  to  Peach  Creek,  ten 
miles  from  Gonzales,  and  halted  to  refresh  the  troops.  He 
was  here  met  by  a  reinforcement  of  a  hundred  men,  which 
increased  his  army  to  upwards  of  four  hundred  and  fifty.  The 
fugitives  from  Gonzales  had  met  this  company  and  given  them 
the  news  from  the  Alamo,  and  so  anxious  had  they  become, 
that  nearly  one  quarter  of  them  had  left  their  officers  to  hurry 
on  to  the  camp.  About  day-break,  an  hour  after  the  arrival 
of  the  army  at  the  Creek,  an  explosion  was  heard  in  the  di- 
rection of  Gonzales.  It  produced  an  electrical  effect  upon  the 
army,  and  many  exclaimed  it  was  the  enemy's  cannon.  An- 
other and  a  third  explosion  were  heard  in  quick  succession. 
Houston  afterwards  said,  that  they  were  the  most  agreeable 
sounds  he  had  ever  heard.  On  the  march  that  niffht,  he  was 
informed  that  several  barrels  of  intoxicating  liquors,  left  in  a 
store  at  Gonzales,  had  been  poisoned  by  arsenic,  and  he  de- 
nounced it  as  a  monstrous  act,  and  not  to  be  justified  even  by 
the  barbarities  of  their  savage  foe.  Understanding  at  once  the 
cause  of  the  explosions,  Houston  quieted  their  apprehen- 
sions by  announcing  the  cause.  It  has  been  stated  that  Hous- 
ton had  ordered  the  town  of  Gonzales  to  be  reduced  to  ashes ; 
but  credible  men  who  were  there,  declared  that  the  charge  was 
not  only  false,  but  that  he  was  angry  when  he  heard  the  fact. 
The  gallant  Captain  Karnes,  who  had  been  left  in  command  of 
the  rear-guard,  believing  its  destruction  would  be  an  annoy- 
ance to  the  enemy,  and  deprive  them  of  the  merchan- 
dize and  other  supplies,  had  set  the  town  on  fire.  After  a  halt 
of  three  hours,  the  army  continued  their  march  to  the  Brasos. 
At  the  LaBaca  he  received  the  letter  from  Colonel  Fannin, 
which  has  already  been  referred  to,  and  he  is  said  to  have 
turned  to  his  aide-de-camp.  Major  Hockley,  and  pointing  to  the 
little  band  which  seemed  but  a  speck  on  the  vast  prairie,  said  ; 
"  Hockley,  there  is  the  last  hope  of  Texas.  We  shall  never 
see  Fannin  nor  his  men — v/ith  these  soldiers  we  must  achieve 


72  THE  MARCH  OF  THE  ARMY. 

our  independence  or  perish  in  the  attempt."  It  was  a  sad  and 
gloomy  march  Over  the  fatal  tragedy  of  the  Alamo  seemed 
to  come  the  dirge  of  500  more  devoted  men. 

Towards  evening,  they  perceived,  at  a  distance,  a  small  mov- 
ing mass  in  the  advance,  which  soon  proved  to  be  a  company 
of  some  thirty  volunteers,  from  the  Brazos,  under  Captain 
Splann.  Even  this  diffused  some  cheerfulness,  and  added  to 
the  lustre  of  the  setting  sun  an  additional  ray. 

At  night  they  encamped  on  the  La  Baca,  where  Houston 
created  a  volunteer  aide-de-camp  of  Major  Wm.  T.  Austin, 
and  dispatched  him  to  the  settlements  of  the  Brazos,  to  meet 
him  with  supplies  of  cannon,  &c.,  on  the  Colorado,  where  he 
intended  to  make  a  stand  against  the  enemy.  A  person  pre- 
sent has  given  a  graphic  account  of  a  scene  that  occurred 
that  night  in  a  little  shantee.  Hockley  was  sitting  by  a  rude 
table,  writing  down  orders  for  Austin,  which  were  dictated  by 
his  General,  who  was  feeding  a  little  fire  with  oak  splinters, 
to   furnish   them   the    only    light   their   extremities    allowed 

them. 

On  the  assurance  of  Austin  that  supplies  could  be  obtained, 
Houston  had  directed  him  to  bring  not  less  than  seven  pieces 
of  mounted  cannon,  with  mules  sufficient  for  draught,  and  at 
least  twelve  good  horses  for  his  spies,  with  ammunition  suffi- 
cient for  the  artillery.  The  march  was  continued  to  the 
Navidad — where  intelligence  reached  him  that  a  blind  woman 
and  her  seven  children  had  been  passed  by,  and  were  not 
apprised  that  the  enemy  was  approaching.  The  General 
immediately  detached  a  company  of  fifty  men,  under  two 
confidential  officers,  and  delayed  his  march  till  the  woman 
and  her  little  orphans  were  brought  safely  to  the  camp. 

We  have  before  us  a  despatch  written  by  Houston,  "  from 
the  camp  on  the  Navidad,"  to  the  chairman  of  the  Military 
Comiltee,  dated  March  15,  from  which  we. make  a  few 
extracts : 

"  My  morning  report,  on  my  arrival  at  the  camp,  showed  374 
men,  without  two  days'  provisions ;  many  without  arms,  and  oLbers 
■without  ammunition.     We  could  have  met  the  enemy  and  avenger] 


Houston's  despatches.  73 

some  of  our  wrongs  ;  but,  as  we  were,  without  supplies  for  men  in 
the  camp,  either  of  provisions,  ammunition,  or  artillery,  and  remote 
from  succor,  it  would  have  been  madness  to  have  hazarded  a  contest. 
*  *  The  first  principles  of  the  drill  had  not  been  taught  the  men.  *  * 
If  the  camp  had  once  been  broken  up  there  would  have  been  no 
hope  for  the  future.  *  *  I  am  fearful  Goliad  is  besieged  by  the  enemy. 
All  orders  to  Col.  Fannin,  directing  the  place  to  be  blown  np,  and  the 
cannon  to  be  sunk  in  the  river,  and  to  fall  back  on  Victoria,  would 
reach  him  before  the  enemy  could  advance.  *  *  I  directed,  on  the  IQth 
of  January  last,  that  the  artillery  should  be  moved  and  the  Alamo 
blown  up  ;  but  it  was  prevented  by  the  expedition  upon  Matajnoras,  the 
cause  of  all  our  misfortunes.''^ 

Those  extracts  show,  beyond  a  question,  that  the  horrid 
slaughter  at  the  Alamo  was  foreseen  by  Houston,  and  caused 
by  violating  his  orders.  Also,  that  the  still  more  bloody 
tragedy  of  Goliad  was  in  the  commander's  eye  before  it 
happened,  and  caused  in  like  manner  by  disobeying  his 
orders.  The  lives  of  hundreds  of  the  bravest  men  paid  the 
penalty,  and  Texas  did  not  recover  from  the  fatal  consequences 
for  many  years. 

From  the  Navidad  he  marched  on  to  the  Colorado,  where 
he  halted*till  all  the  women  and  children,  and  non-combatants, 
with  their  cattle  and  horses,  had  safely  crossed  over.  Leaving 
a  guard  on  his  rear,  he  went  over  the  Colorado  with  the  main 
army.  On  this  day,  17th  of  March,  he  thus  writes  the  Mili- 
tary Committee  :  "  To-day,  at  half-past  four  p.m.,  we  reached 
this  Point  (Burnham's).  *  *  It  pains  me  at  heart  that  such 
consternation  should  be  spread  by  a  few  deserters  from  the 
camp,  but  we  are  here,  and  if  only  three  hundred  men  remain 
on  this  side  the  Brazos,  I  will  die  with  them  or  conquer  our 
enemies.  *  *  Send  agents  to  the  United  States.  Appeal  to 
them  in  the  holy  names  of  Liberty  and  Humanity.  *  *  Let 
the  men  from  the  East  of  the  Trinity  rush  to  us.  Let  all  the 
disposable  force  of  Texas  fly  to  arms." 

On  the  following  day  he  marched  down  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Colorado,  about  twelve  miles,  and  encamped  opposite 
Beason's,  to  await  the  arrival  of  Austin  with  his  supplies. 
During  this  period  he  had  to  keep  pickets  for  more  than  thirty 
miles  up  and  down  the  river,  to  prevent  surprise.     Shortlv 


74  THE    MASSACRE    OF    FANNIN  S    REGIMENT. 

after  his  arrival,  it  was  ascertained  that  General  Sezma  had 
advanced  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  taken  a  position 
a  few  miles  above  the  Texian  Camp,  which  caused  Houston's 
rear-guard  to  fall  back  over  the  river.  They  had,  witliout 
authority  from  their  General,  set  fire  to  Burnham's  premises, 
as  the  enemy  had  encamped  near  by. 

Houston  now  sent  a  detachment  with  orders  to  secrete  them- 
selves in  a  strong  position,  supposing  that  the  army  would  be 
likely  to  pass  the  river  with  a  strong  advance  guard,  and  the 
position  of  the  Texians  being  well  chosen,  would  enable  them 
to  discomfit  five  limes  their  number.  As  he  had  anticipated, 
the  enemy  crossed  the  river  with  upwards  of  50  cavalry,  un- 
conscious of  the  ambuscade,  and  would  have  been  completely 
cut  off,  had  it  not  been  for  the  imprudence  of  one  men,  who 
fired  upon  them  too  soon,  and  thus  advertised  them  of  their 
danger.     No  other  attempt  was  made  to  cross. 

Some  few  reinforcements  and  supplies  reached  the  camp 
about  this  time.  But  his  entire  force,  including  all  his  de- 
tachments, did  not  exceed  650  men  :  and  his  artillery  not  arriv- 
ing, he  was  unable  to  cross  the  river  and  give  battle  to  Gen- 
eral Sezma.  Austin  had  limited  his  arrival  with  the  supplies 
and  artillery  to  twelve  days,  and  although  the  time  had  pass- 
ed, nothing  had  yet  been  heard  from  him.  A  slight  skirmish 
had  taken  place  between  a  party  of  riflemen  and  an  advance 
guard  of  the  enemy,  but  without  any  decisive  result. 

On  the  23d  March,  Houston  writes  to  Mr.  Rusk : 

"  You  know  I  am  not  easily  depressed,  but,  before  my  God,  since 
we  parted,  I  have  found  the  darkest  hours  of  my  life.  For  forty-eight 
hours  I  have  neither  eaten  an  ounce  of  anything,  nor  have  I  slept. 
All  who  saw  the  deserters,  breathed  the  poison  and  tied.  It  was  a 
poor  compliment  to  me  to  suppose  I  would  not  advise  the  Convention 
of  any  necessity  that  might  have  arisen  for  the  removal." 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  gloom  and  suspense,  the  news  came, 
which  burst  Uke  a  bolt  of  thunder  over  the  little  army — Colonel 
Fannin's  Regiment  had  all  been  massacred!  A  Mexican,  by 
the  name  of  Peter  Kerr,  had  brought  the  intelligence,  and  al- 
though he  had  not  a  shado^v  of  doubt  the  man's  story  was 
true,  yet  such  was  the  alarm  it  had  created,  the  General  was 


THE    SAGACITY    OF    THE    GENERAL.  75 

obliged  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  messenger,  to  prevent  his 
camp  from  being  deserted.  The  fall  of  the  Alamo  had  well- 
nigh  dispersed  the  little  army,  and  when  they  heard  that  500 
brave  comrades,  fully  armed  and  equipped,  had  all  been  cut  off, 
their  consternation  was  redoubled.  The  last  barrier  between 
them  and  a  slaughtering  army  seemed  swept  away,  and  it  was 
not  strange  that  this  last  sad  news  had  unnerved  their  courage. 
Houston  had  his  part  to  play  that  night,  and  he  played  it 
well.  In  such  exigencies  all  the  difficulties  have  to  be  over- 
come at  once.  He  instantly  called  for  the  sergeant  of  the 
guard,  and  denouncing  Kerr  as  an  incendiary  of  the  Mexicans, 
sent  to  his  camp  to  produce  distraction,  declared  in  a  furious 
passion  he  would  have  the  spy  shot  the  next  morning  at  nine 
o'clock.  An  order  was  immediately  given  to  have  the  man 
arrested  and  placed  under  a  strong  guard.  He  then  addressed 
the  soldiery,  and  adduced  many  reasons  why  the  news  could 
not  be  true.  His  apparent  disbelief  calmed  the  excitement, 
which  had  reached  a  fearful  pitch.  Houston  would  not  see 
the  prisoner,  till  the  camp  had  retired  to  rest.  He  then  went 
to  the  guard-fire,  and  heard  his  story.  He  knew  that  his  worst 
apprehensions  had  become  history.  He  gave  private  orders  to 
have  his  prisoner  treated  kindly,  and  the  next  morning  he  for- 
got to  have  him  executed !  The  excitement  had  passed  away 
with  the  dreams  of  the  soldiers — but  the  prisoner  could  not  be 
released  at  once,  since  everything  which  savored  of  the  Mexi- 
cans was  odious  to  the  army,  and  Houston  would  have  been 
charged  with  turning  loose  a  spy,  and  perhaps  collusion  with  the 
enemy.  Houston  struck  his  camp  that  evening,  and  marched 
towards  the  Brazos.  The  army  reached  San  Felipe  the  next 
night,  effecting  a  march  of  about  twenty-eight  miles  in  less 
than  twenty-four  hours.  We  find  in  one  of  the  General's  des- 
patches, dated 

"  Camp,  West  of  Brazos,  March  31st. 
"  My  intention  was  to  have  attacked  the  enemy  on  the  second 
night  after  the  day  Fannin's  destruction  was  reported  by  Kerr.  *  * 
Send  me  daily  expresses,  and  let  me  know  what  to  rely  on.  I  must 
let  the  camp  know  something,  and  I  want  everything  promised,  to  be 
realized  by  theiu,  and  I  can  keep  them  together.     I  have  thus  far  sue- 


76  CAMP    ON    THE    BRAZOS. 

ceeded  beyond  my  hopes.  I  will  do  the  best  I  can  ;  but  be  assured, 
the  fame  of  Jackson  could  never  compensate  me  for  my  anxiety  and 
mental  pain.  Two  nights  since,  when  it  was  reported  that  the  enemy 
was  on  this  side  of  the  Colorado,  the  citizens  of  San  Felipe  reduced 
it  to  ashes.     There  was  no  order  from  me  for  it." 

On  the  3d  of  April,  Houston  again  writes  the  Secretary  of 
War.  After  describing  the  massacre  of  Fannin's  command,  he 
says : 

"  Humanity  must  recoil  at  the  perfidy  which  has  been  exercised 
towards  brave  and  heroic  men,  who  have  perished  in  the  unequal  con- 
flicts with  the  enemy,  when  they  were  always  more  than  six  to  one. 
Will  not  our  friends  rush  to  the  conflict,  and  at  once  avenge  the 
wrongs  which  have  been  inflicted  on  our  dauntless  comrades  l — 
The  day  of  just  retribution  ought  not  to  be  deferred." 

Again,  on  the  6th  of  April,  he  says  : 

"  The  enemy  shall  be  closely  looked  to,  and  the  first  favorable  mo- 
ment seized  with  avidity,  to  eflect  his  total  defeat." 

The  army  encamped  on  the  night  of  the  29th  of  March  at 
Mill  Creek,  and  the  following  day  reached  their  destination  op- 
posite Groces.  The  steamboat  Yellow  Stone,  which  was  lying 
at  the  landing,  was  at  once  pressed  into  the  service,  and  a  com- 
pany of  troops  stationed  on  board  to  prevent  the  boat  or  its  en- 
gineers from  running  off.  The  army  remained  in  the  same  po- 
sition till  the  11th  of  April.  During  tliis  time  the  river  had 
swollen  by  the  spring  rains,  and  as  Houston's  camp  lay  on  an 
island  of  the  Brazos,  where  he  was  secure  from  the  enemy,  he 
constructed  a  narrow  bridge,  by  which  communication  was 
maintained  w'ith  the  enemy's  country,  over  which  the  Texian 
scouts  could  pass,  to  gather  information,  and  hold  a  keen  vigi- 
lance of  the  movements  and  designs  of  the  Mexicans. 

Before  the  waters  reached  their  greatest  height.  General 
Houston  had  designed,  as  soon  as  the  enemy  should  approach 
San  Felipe,  to  march  with  all  his  force,  and  surprise  them  at 
night,  believing  that  their  confidence,  inspired  by  numbers,  dis- 
cipline, and  success,  would  have  completely  thrown  them  off 
their  guard,  which  would  give  an  easy  victory  to  the  Texian 
commander.  But  when  he  learned  of  the  arrival  of  the  enemy 
at  San  Felipe,  the  freshet  was  at  its  height,  and  having  three 
creeks  without  fords,  to  pass  in  his  march,  this  boldly  conceived 


73  SANTA  anna's  PLAN  OF  CAMPAIGN. 

plan  failed.  Although  no  fortunate  result  followed  many  of  these 
designs  of  Houston,  yet  they  will  show  to  the  reader  the  sleep- 
less vigilance  and  bold  daring  of  the  man  upon  whose  move- 
ments was  suspended  the  fate  of  the  young  Commonwealth. 
We  also  deem  their  relation  important,  because  they  serve  to 
render  the  reader  familiar  with  the  chances  and  changes  of  war- 
fare, and  the  qualities  necessary  in  the  citizen  who  leads  an 
army  to  the  field. 

The  company  left  in  charge  of  San  Felipe  having  retired  to 
the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  thrown  up  a  partial  fortification 
of  timber,  the  enemy  immediately  opened  their  artillery  upon 
their  breastworks,  and  the  noise  of  their  cannon  announced  to 
Houston  the  first  certainty  of  their  approach.  A  company  of 
eighty  men,  which  had  just  arrived  at  the  camp  from  Eastern 
Texas,  w^ere  detached  with  another  body  to  succor  Captain 
Baker,  while,  by  means  of  expresses,  the  Commander-in-Chief 
kept  up  communication  with  the  troops  at  San  Felipe  and  Fort 
Bend. 

His  entire  force  at  Groces,  where  the  main  body  of  the  army 
lay,  did  not  now  exceed  five  hundred  and  twenty  men.  He  had 
been  encouraged  to  expect  not  less  than  five  hundred  men  from 
the  Redlands,  and  they  could  have  been  furnished,  for  they 
were  already  in  the  field,  and  many  of  them  had  advanced  their 
march  to  the  banks  of  the  Trinity.  But  some  turbulent  men, 
who  were  willing  to  ruin  the  country  rather  than  fail  in  Hous- 
ton's destruction,  raised  rumors  of  Indian  hostilities,  which  pre- 
vented them  from  joining  him.  Amongst  them  was  General 
Quitman's  command  from  Natchez — a  fme  company  of  south- 
ern chivalry,  who  were  thus  prevented  from  participating  in  the 
triumphs  of  San  Jacinto.  They  arrived  at  the  camp  two  days 
after  the  victory.  The  country  behind  Houston  was  entirely 
depopulated.  He  never  fell  back  till  the  women  and  children 
were  secure  from  danger — always  interposing  the  army  between 
the  enemy  and  the  helpless. 

He  had  now  become  apprised  of  the  strength,  position  and 
designs  of  the  enemy.  They  were  marching  upon  him  in  three 
Divisions.  The  centre  was  to  advance  from  San  Antonio  to 
Gonzales,  Beason's,  ?.nd  by  San    Felipe  or  Washington,  and 


MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  TEXIAN  ARMY.  79 

Robbins'  Ferry  to  Nacogdoches — led  by  Santa  Anna  himself. 
The  Second  Division,  under  General  Urrea,  was  to  march  from 
Goliad  by  the  way  of  Victoria  to  Brazoria  and  Harrisburg,  while 
the  upper  or  Third  Division  advanced  by  Bastrap  to  Tenoxtitlan 
on  the  Brazos,  and  thence  to  the  Camanche,  crossing  the  Trinity, 
on  to  Nacogdoches.  The  plan  of  the  campaign  gave  evidence 
of  the  superior  ability  of  Santa  Anna,  and  showed  Houston  the 
man  he  had  to  deal  with.  At  the  same  time  the  entire  scheme 
had  to  be  broken  up  in  less  than  thirty  days,  or  Texas  would  be 
swept  by  three  rolling  streams  of  fire,  which  would  cover  the 
land  with  desolation,  and  blot  out  the  last  hope  of  the  Repub- 
lic. How  this  almost  impossible  work  was  to  be  achieved,  no 
one  knew  but  Houston.  There  was  a  painful  feeling  of  sus- 
pense throughout  the  little  army,  and  all  eyes  were  turned 
anxiously  upon  their  bold  leader.  There  was  no  longer  a  doubt 
in  the  mind  of  any  one  who  knew  the  position  of  affairs,  that 
the  salvation  of  Texas,  under  God,  had  been  thrown  entirely 
upon  Houston's  arm. 

What  was  his  policy  ?  Apprised  of  all  this,  he  believed  that 
the  Divisions  were  sufficiently  detached  to  be  managed  in  detail, 
if  the  tsuccors  he  had  a  right  to  expect  should  reach  him  in 
time.  His  position  on  the  Brazos  enabled  him  to  cover  a  larger 
extent  of  country  than  any  other  he  could  have  selected,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  eligible  for  supplies.  During  his  entire 
encampment  there  he  was  sending  frequent  expresses  to  Eastern 
Texas,  and  while  he  represented  his  true  situation  in  his  con- 
fidential despatches  to  the  Committee  of  Vigilance  and  Safety  at 
Nacogdoches,  he  was  in  the  habit,  we  have  heard,  of  endorsing 
the  envelopes  with  certain  postscripts,  that  all  might  see  that 
his  force  did  not  exceed  twenty-five  hundred  men  j  for  he  be- 
lieved if  his  real  situation  was  known,  it  would  deter  all  succors 
from  coming  to  his  aid.  This  is  the  only  origin  we  have  dis- 
covered for  the  report  of  his  having  so  large  a  command. 

About  the  11th  of  April,  news  came  from  Fort  Bend  that 
the  Centre  Division  under  Santa  Anna  had  already  crossed  the 
river  at  that  place.  The  company  stationed  there  not  maintaining 
the  vigilance  enjoined,  the  ferry-boat  was  taken  over  by  a  negro 
to  the  western  side.     By  this  means  they  were  enabled  at  once 


80  CONVENTION  BREAKS  UP  IN  ALARM. 

to  pass  the  river.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  circumstance,  the 
Brazos  being  at  high  flood,  they  could  not  have  passed  for  a 
month,  and  Houston  could  have  maintained  his  position  till  his 
safety  inspired  a  confidence  that  would  have  reinforced  his 
army. 

A  fortunate  combination  of  circumstances  enabled  Houston  to 
maintain  himself  against  the  influence  that  seemed  to  be  mark- 
ing his  destiny.  The  Upper  Division  of  the  Mexican  army, 
under  Gaono,  became  bewildered  in  their  march,  and  ascended 
the  Colorado.  The  South  Division  under  Urrea,  was  delayed 
by  high  waters,  and  never  passed  the  Brazos  at  all.  Santa 
Anna  had,  doubtless,  learned  that  Harrisburg  had  become  the 
seat  of  Government,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention, 
which  took  place  on  the  17th  of  March,  and  was  prepared  to 
take  advantage  of  the  alarm  which  this  flight  of  the  officers  of 
the  Republic  had  spread  over  the  colonies.  The  Convention 
had  broken  up  in  utter  consternation  and  dismay,  and  only  seven 
of  its  members  ever  found  their  way  to  the  army.  None  but 
those  who  were  on  the  ground  can  have  any  conception  of  the 
fatal  consequences  that  attended  this  movement.  It  is  safe, 
probably,  to  say  that  to  it  more  than  any  other  cause  was  it 
owing  that  Houston  received  no  more  reinforcements  in  that 
trying  crisis.  A  constitutional  act  had  been  passed  by  the 
Convention,  creating  a  Government  ad  interim^  consisting  of  a 
President,  and  Secretaries  of  War,  Navy,  and  the  Treasury, 
with  all  powers  incident  to  a  Government,  except  the  law- 
making. They  had  adjourned  to  Harrisburg,  not  less  than 
seventy  miles  from  the  scene  of  war.  The  wise  men  and  the 
worthies  of  the  nation,  thus  fleeing  from  danger,  was  calculated 
to  alarm  the  old,  the  young,  and  the  helpless,  to  afford  an  ex- 
cuse to  the  timid,  and  sanction  the  flight  of  the  cowardly. 
Many  brave  men,  who  had  joined  Houston,  hearing  of  the  general 
consternation  which  had  followed  the  adjournment  of  the  Con- 
vention, could  not  resist  their  natural  impulses  to  go  and  render 
protection  to  their  abandoned  fugitive  wives  and  children.  Hous- 
ton has  often  declared  that  this  was  one  of  the  most  appalling 
circumstances  that  ever  befel  him  w^hile  struggling  for  Texas, 
and  we  find  this  confirmed  by  his  dispatches. 


THE  ARMY  CROSSES  THE  BRAZOS.  81 

But  the  event  proved  it  was  fortunate  for  him  that  Santa  Anna 
had  heard  that  Harrisburg  had  become  the  seat  of  Government,, 
for  it  caused  him  to  abandon  his  general  plan  of  invasion,  and 
diverge  from  his  route  to  Nacogdoches,  with  a  view  to  capture 
the  self-preserving  administration  of  the  new  Republic.  As 
soon  as  General  Houston  received  intelligence  that  Santa  Anna 
was  crossing  the  Brazos,  he  despatched  without  delay  his  orders 
for  all  the  troops,  scattered  up  and  down  the  river,  from  Wash- 
ington to  Fort  Bend,  a  distance  of  more  than  eighty  miles,  to 
join  him  on  his  march  to  Harrisburg.  While  he  lay  on  the 
Brazos,  General  Rusk,  now  Senator  from  Texas,  and  then 
newly-appointed  Secretary  of  War,  instead  of  flying  from  the 
scene  of  danger,  when  the  rest  of  the  cabinet  fled,  hastened  to 
the  Commander-in-Chief  on  the  Brazos.  They  advised  together 
most  cordially,  on  all  matters  connected  with  the  welfare  of 
Texas,  and  harmonized  most  perfectly  in  the  means  necessary  to 
be  adopted.  The  steam-boat  Yellow  Stone  was  put  in  motion,  and 
in  two  days  the  entire  army,  with  their  baggage-wagons  and 
horses,  was  transported  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Brazos.  On 
the  shore,  Houston  met  the  first  artillery  w^hich  had  been  under 
}^is  control.  They  were  two  six-pounders  (a  present  from  some 
patriotic  men  in  Cincinnati)  ,  but  they  were  without  equipments 
necessary  for  use,  except  that  they  were  mounted.  There 
being  a  smith's  shop  and  gunsmiths  there,  who  had  been  em- 
ployed in  repairing  the  arms  of  the  troops,  the  two  field-pieces 
were  immediately  made  ready  for  effective  use,  and  all  the  old 
iron  in  the  neighborhood  cut  into  slugs,  and  formed  into  car- 
tridges. The  little  army  halted  a  few  miles  from  the  Ferry,  and 
encamped  for  the  night.  After  the  Commander-in-Chief  had, 
as  was  his  uniform  custom,  examined  in  person  the  state  of  the 
camp,  and  seen  that  everything  necessary  for  an  early  march 
had  been  done,  he  inquired  the  route  for  Harrisburg.  Houston 
had  never  before  been  in  that  region  ;  but  he  took  the  precau- 
tion to  inform  himself  perfectly  of  the  geography  of  the  country, 
well  knowing  that  he  was  liable  to  be  surprised  any  hour  by  a 
superior  force.  One  road  led  to  Nacogdoches,  crossing  the 
Trinity  at  Bobbins' Ferry ;  and  Houston  knew  that  this  was 

the  road   Santa  Anna  must  have  taken  in  his  march  upon  Har- 
6 


83  MARCH    THROUGH    THE    PRAIRIE. 

risburg.  The  main  army,  amounting  to  between  seven  and 
eight  hundred  men,  was  now  put  in  motion.  They  marched 
that  day  (16th  April)  to  McArley's,  a  fatiguing  march  of  eight- 
een miles,  through  a  prairie.  There  were  fourteen  baggage- 
wagons,  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  in  the  train.  Excessive 
rains  had  made  the  prairie  boggy,  and  in  many  places  the 
wagons  had  to  be  unloaded,  and  the  dismounted  field-pieces 
carried  or  rolled  through  the  mire.  This  brought  into  requisition 
the  entire  physical  strength  of  the  army.  Houston  had,  early 
in  the  march,  foreseen  what  lay  before  his  men,  and  on  the  first 
emergency,  he  stripped  off  his  coat,  dismounted,  and  set  the 
example  of  unloading  and  transporting  baggage  and  guns,  and 
so  continued  throughout  the  day,  commanding  and  aiding  the 
soldiers  wdth  his  personal  strength.  The  brave  little  army 
halted  at  sun-set,  and  laid  themselves  down  to  sleep  in  the 
open  field,  without  covering,  for  there  was  not  a  tent  in  the 
camp.  About  dark,  a  cold  rain  set  in,  and  continued  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  Such  were  the  hardships  those  men  were  compelled 
to  undergo,  who  were  working  out  the  emancipation  of  their 
country. 

The  second  day  (17th)  they  pursued  their  exhausting  march 
through  the  rain,  twelve  miles,  to  Burnett's  settlement,  which 
they  found  deserted.  Another  night  followed — the  soldiers 
slept  on  the  wet  ground,  with  their  arms  in  their  hands,  ready 
to  answer  in  a  single  moment  the  three  taps  of  the  drum, 
which  was  the  only  instrument  of  martial  music  in  the  camp, 
and  which  was  never  touched  but  by  the  General  himself. 
The  third  day's  march  (18di),  through  the  prairie,  of  eighteen 
miles,  brought  them  to  Post  Oak  Bayou,  where  they  encamped 
for  the  night.  Their  toilsome  march  through  the  prairie  was 
now  over,  and  they  were  only  six  or  eight  miles  from  Harris- 
burg.  But  Santa  Anna  had  been  there  before  them,  and  re- 
duced the  town  to  ashes,  on  his  march  to  New  Washington. 

The  army  had  marched  up  within  two  miles  of  the  stream, 
and  almost  in  sight  of  the  ruin,  and  prepared  to  cross  the  Buf- 
falo Bayou,  which  lay  between  them  and  the  scene  of  deso- 
lation.    The  gallant  Karnes,  and  Deaf  Smith,  swam  over  the 


HOUSTON    PREPARES    TO    MEET    SANTA    ANNA.  83 

stream  with  several  companions,  and  in  a  short  time  brought 
back  over  the  Bayou  two  expresses  who  bore  most  important 
intelligence.  On  the  person  of  the  courier,  who  was  a  Mexi- 
can officer,  were  found  despatches  from  Filisola  to  Santa 
Anna,  so  recently  written,  that  the  reader  remarked :  "  The  ink, 
sir,  is  hardly  dry."  The  Texian  commander  now  had  the 
most  positive  assurance  that  Santa  Anna  was  in  command  of 
the  advance  of  the  enemy.  The  second  express  contained  the 
mail  from  the  capital,  filled  with  letters  of  congratulation  re- 
cognizing Santa  Anna  as  Emperor  of  Mexico,  &c. 

Mr.  Rusk,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  General  Houston,  im- 
mediately retired  for  a  private  conference.  Very  few  words 
passed  between  them :  the  facts  were  before  them,  and  they 
could  come  to  but  one  decision.  "  We  need  not  talk,"  said 
the  General,  "you  think  we  ought  to  fight,  and  I  think  so 
too."  The  battle  was  decided  on,  and  the  fate  of  Texas  was 
to  be  settled  as  soon  as  the  enemy  could  be  found.  Shortly 
after  this  conference,  General  Houston  was  informed  by  Colo- 
nel Hockley  that  he  had  overheard  an  officer  in  command  of  a 
regiment  saying  to  the  men  about  him,  over  whom  he  sup- 
posed himself  to  possess  the  greatest  influence,  "  Boys,  Hous- 
ton don't  intend  to  fight — follow  me  and  you  shall  have  enough 
of  it,"  Houston  at  once  remarked  to  Hockley,  "  I'll  cure  this 
mischief  directly."  He  ordered  the  two  Colonels  to  be  sent 
for.  "  Gentlemen,  have  you  rations  of  beef  in  the  camp,  for 
three  days  ?"  "  Yes,  sir."  "  You  will  then  see  that  each  man 
is  supplied  with  three  days'  cooked  rations,  and  hold  the  camp 
in  readiness  to  march.  We  will  see  if  we  can  find  Santa 
Anna  :  good  morning,  gentlemen."  Turning  off  with  Hock- 
ley, Houston  remarked,  "  There  is  no  excuse  for  sedition  now, 
if  they  wish  to  fight."  At  the  same  time  orders  were  given  to 
prepare  for  crossing  the  Bayou — that  the  army  might  com- 
mence their  march  the  next  morning  upon  the  enemy. 

Night  passed,  and  daylight  came — but  no  preparations  had 
been  made  for  the  march.  The  orders  of  the  Commanding 
Officer  had  been  disregarded,  and  not  a  soldier  was  prepared 
with  his  rations.     Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.     Instead  of 


84  PASSAGE    OF    BUFFALO    BAYOU. 

taking  his  rest,  as  was  his  custom  early  in  the  morning,  the 
General  issued  his  orders  himself  to  the  men,  and  the  camp 
was  soon  busy  with  the  note  of  preparation.  But  it  was  nine 
o'clock  before  he  could  get  his  column  under  arras.  When 
the  army  arrived  at  the  Bayou,  two  miles  from  the  encamp- 
ment, they  found  the  boat  nearly  filled  with  water.  Houston 
at  once  dismounted,  called  for  an  axe,  and  went  to  hewing 
oars  out  of  rails. 

The  passage  was  a  difficult  and  perilous  undertaking,  and  yet 
Houston  was  determined  to  make  it  that  morning.  The  Bayou 
was  about  fifty  yards  wide,  and  more  than  twenty  feet  deep. 
As  the  Pioneers,  a  small  company,  were  going  aboard,  an  acci- 
dent occurred  which  damaged  the  boat.  Houston  leaped  aboard 
at  once ;  and  his  faithful  horse,  whom  he  had  left  pawing  on  the 
bank,  plunged  in  after  his  master,  and  swam  to  the  opposite 
shore.  A  rope  was  soon  constructed  out  of  cabriestas  (a  rope 
of  horse  hair)  and  raw  tugs,  and  fastened  to  both  sides  of  the 
stream,  which  enabled  the  boat  to  make  more  rapid  trips,  and 
kept  it  from  floating  down  stream.  The  passage  was  noAV  be- 
ing made  with  great  rapidit}',  but  it  was  an  hour  of  intense  anx- 
iety to  the  commander  and  his  intelligent  councillor,  the  Secre- 
tary of  War.  General  Houston  had  crossed,  and  stood  on  one 
side,  while  Mr.  Rusk  remained  on  the  other,  both  watching  the 
perilous  movement  of  their  little  army,  in  whose  brave  hearts 
the  hopes  of  Texas  were  now  all  gathered.  A  single  accident  ! 
No  one  knew  but  the  next  moment  the  enemy's  column  might 
heave  in  sight,  and  if  they  came  up  while  that  deep  stream  di- 
vided the  army  of  Texas,  the  result  would  be  foretold  before  it 
happened. 

Half  the  army  had  now  passed,  and  of  course  it  was  the  mo- 
ment of  the  deepest  peril.  The  boat  was  giving  way  ;  four 
strong  men  were  bailing  out  the  water  continually.  The  body 
of  cavalry  was  now  to  be  risked.  They  were  goaded  to  plunge 
into  the  deep  stream,  and  they  at  once  disappeared.  But  they 
rose  again  in  their  strength  and  strained  for  the  steep  bank. 
They  reached  it,  and  when  they  struck  the  solid  ground  they 
sprang  from  the  water,  and  shook  their  tired  limbs.     The  pas- 


LAST  DESPATCH  FROM  SAN  JACINTO.  85 

sase  was  made.  Mr.  Rusk  went  over  on  the  last  boat.  It  was 
an  affecting  spectacle  to  sec  these  two  brave  men  seize  each 
other's  hands  when  they  met  on  the  left  bank  of  the  stream  ;  and 
it  is  not  difficult  to  believe  what  is  indeed  said,  that  the  same 
expression  of  gratitude  fell  from  their  lips  together — "  Thank 
God — we  are  at  last  safely  over."  While  the  lines  were  form- 
ing, General  Houston  drew  from  his  pocket  a  scrap  of  paper, 
and  with  a  pencil  (here  was  his  only  portfolio)  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing letter. 

Camp  at  Harrisburg,  April  19lh,  1S36. 
To  Colonel  Rusk  in  the  Field. 
This  morning  we  are  in  preparation  to  meet  Santa  Anna.  It  is 
the  only  chance  of  saving  Texas.  From  time  to  time  I  have  looked 
for  reinforcements  in  vain.  The  Convention's  adjourning  to  Harris- 
burg  struck  panic  throughout  the  country.  Texas  could  have  started 
at  least  four  thousand  men.  We  will  only  be  about  seven  hundred 
to  march,  besides  the  camp  guard  But  we  go  to  conquest.  It  is 
wisdom  growing  out  of  necessity  to  meet  and  fight  the  enemy  7iow. 
Every  consideration  enforces  it.  The  troops  are  in  fine  spirits,  and 
now  is  the  time  for  action.  We  will  use  our  best  efforts  to  fight  the 
enemy  to  such  advantage  us  will  insure  victory,  though  the  odds  are 
greatly  against  us.  1  leave  the  result  in  the  hands  of  an  all-wise  God, 
and  I  rely  confidently  upon  His  providence.  My  country  will  do 
justice  to  those  who  serve  her.  The  right  for  which  we  fight  will  be 
secured,  and  Texas  shall  be  free. 

SAMUEL  HOUSTON,  Commander-in-Chief. 
(Certified  copy  from  the  Department  of  War,  of  the  Republic  of 
Texas.) 

The  lines  were  now  formed,  and  Houston  rode  up  and  ad- 
dressed the  soldiers.  Those  who  heard  hira,  say  that  he  made 
the  most  impassioned  and  eloquent  appeal  they  ever  listened  to. 
The  words  seemed  to  flow  along  the  lines  like  streams  of  elec- 
tric fluid,  and  when  he  gave  them  for  their  watchword,  Remem- 
ber THE  Alamo,  it  struck  like  a  bolt  of  fire.  The  watchword 
had  no  sooner  fallen  from  his  lips,  than  it  was  caught  up  by 
every  man  in  the  army,  and  one  simultaneous  shout  broke  up 
into  the  sky — Remember  the  Alamo — Remember  the  ./llamo,  was 
repeated,  and  the  green  islands  of  trees  in  the  prairie  sent  back 
the  echo.  The  Secretary  of  War  also  spoke  in  the  most  happy 
and  stirring  manner.     The  men  seemed  inspired  with  the  spirit 


86  MARCH    TO    THE    BATTLE-FIELD. 

of  chivalry,  and  were  impatient  for  the  order  of  "  March  "  to  be 
given. 

The  order  came,  and  the  column  got  under  way.  As  it 
moved  on  over  the  prairie,  the  golden  sun  shone  out  full  and 
clear  from  mid-heaven,  as  it  never  shines  even  in  that  beautiful 
climate,  except  after  a  long  cold  rain.  It  seemed  to  be  the  sig- 
nal of  God's  approval,  and  they  felt  that  the  Heavens  themselves 
smiled  on  the  struggle.  No  martial  strains  fell  upon  the  ear, 
no  rich  bugle  rang  out  its  full  clear  blast,  no  gorgeous  banners 
waved  over  the  embattled  host.  Their  march  was  not  mea- 
sured even  by  "  the  thrilling  fife,  the  pealing  drum."  There 
was  little  of  the  pomp  or  circumstance  of  glorious  war,  but  there 
was  the  firm  purpose,  the  strained  muscle,  the  compressed  lip, 
and  the  heavy  tramp  of  seven  hundred  men,  determined  to  be 
free. 

In  a  narrow  woodland  not  far  from  the  stream,  the  army  halted 
till  sun-down,  to  avoid  being  seen  in  the  open  prairie.  The 
column  was  now  once  more  in  motion,  and  a  forced  march  made 
to  a  point  not  more  than  four  or  five  miles  distant  from  the  ground 
where  the  main  struggle  was  to  be  made.  They  took  shelter 
under  the  covert  of  a  grove  off  from  the  line  of  march,  and  the 
weary  men  laid  down  on  their  rifles  to  sleep  for  an  hour. 

At  daylight  General  Houston  rose  from  the  ground  wdiere  he 
had  been  resting  his  head  on  a  coil  of  rope  used  in  dragging  the 
artillery,  and  roused  the  camp  by  his  well  known  three  taps  of 
the  drum — for  a  reveille  or  tattoo-had  never  been  beaten  from  the 
day  he  took  the  command.  Their  artillery  had  never  been 
fired  till  it  was  fired  in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 

Pickets  were  advanced  in  every  direction.  The  scouts  sent 
on  ahead  soon  returned  with  information  which  satisfied  the 
Commander  the  enemy  was  not  far  distant.  A  small  party  had 
been  fallen  in  with,  and  chase  given  to  them,  but  they  were  well 
mounted,  and  effected  their  escape.  On  the  return  of  the  scout- 
ing party,  the  army  halted  to  take  refreshment,  beeves  were 
dressed,  and  the  roasting-fires  kindled. 

But  little  progress  had  been  made  when,  about  seven  o'clock 
that  same  morning,  news  came  that  the  enemy  was  marching  up 


THE    MEETING    OF    THE    TWO    ARMIES.  87 

from  New  Washington  to  cross  the  San  Jacinto,  which,  if  ef- 
fected, would  have  enabled  Santa  Anna  to  carry  desolation  to 
the  Sabine.  Houston  immediately  ordered  the  line  to  be 
taken  up  for  the  crossing  of  the  San  Jacinto  at  Lynchburg. 
The  issue  of  the  entire  struggle  hinged  on  cutting  off  Santa 
Anna's  retreat.  The  army  saw  it  at  once.  The  soldiers,  with 
alacrity,  abandoned  their  meat  half  cooked,  flew  to  their  arms 
as  one  man,  and  as  soon  as  the  horses  could  be  hitched  to  the 
artillery  the  march  began.  The  column  did  not  halt  till  the 
Ferry  at  the  junction  of  Buffalo  Bayou  and  the  San  Jacinto 
was  reached,  where,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  Texians,  they 
learned  that  Santa  Anna  had  not  yet  come  up.  Houston  took 
possession  of  a  new  boat  which  Santa  Anna  had  forced  some 
Americans  to  construct,  and  had  it  rowed  up  opposite  the  first 
grove  on  the  Bayou.  In  the  meantime,  having  arrived  first, 
he  could  choose  his  own  position,  and  he  posted  himself  in  a 
beautiful  copse  of  trees  which  grew  on  a  bend  in  the  stream— 
and  lay  in  a  semicircular  form  on  the  margin  of  the  Prairie. 
The  trees  and  the  undergrowth  enabled  him  to  conceal  his 
forces  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  plant  his  artillery  on  the 
brow  of  the  copse. 

The  Texian  army  was  now  ready  to  go  into  battle  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning.  But  as  the  enemy  had  not  yet  come  up,  they 
again  lighted  their  fires  to  complete  their  culinary  operations, 
which  had  been  so  suddenly  interrupted  a  few  hours  pre- 
viously. But  they  had  scarcely  laid  aside  their  arms  and 
kindled  their  fires,  before  Houston's  scouts  came  flying  into 
the  camp  with  the  news  that  the  Mexicans  were  in  sight — 
and  shortly  after  Santa  Anna's  bugles  were  heard  over  the 
Prairie,  sounding  the  charge  of  the  Mexican  army. 

Whatever  may  have  been  said  to  the  contrary,  it  is  perfectly 
certain  that  Santa  Anna  knew  the  position  of  the  Texian  Gen- 
eral, and  so  far  from  his  being  surprised  by  a  discharge  from  the 
Texian  artillery,  he  intended  to  surprise  the  enemy  himself. 
Accordingly  he  opened  his  "  brass  twelve-pounder"  upon  the 
Texian  position,  intending  to  sustain  the  Artillery  by  his  In- 
fantry and  Cavalry.     But  a  well  directed  fire  of  grape-shot  and 


'Battle  Grouiu 

-^ . 

Som  Jacvnlo 

AA.  Honston's  Camp.  _ 

BB.  Burleson's  Reg't.     ^^^ 
CC.  Artillery  and  Regulars. 
DD.  Sherman's  Regiment. 
EP.  Islands  of  Timber. 
GG.  Santa  Anna's  Camp. 
H.  400  men  under  Almonte, 
lilL  1400,  main  Army. 


SKIRMISHING    THE    FIRST    DAY.  89 

canister  from  Houston's  two  six-pounders  drove  back  the  In- 
fantry column,  which  took  sheUer  in  a  piece  of  timber  within 
rifle  shot  of  the  left  wing  of  the  Texian  army.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Mexican  field-piece  was  kept  playing,  but  with  no 
other  result  than  that  Col.  Neill,  the  gallant  olFicer  of  the  Ar- 
tillery, received  a  grape-shot  in  his  thigh,  which  disabled  him 
from  service.  These  events  took  place  about  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  Col.  Sherman,  of  the  2d  Regiment,  requested 
of  the  Commander  permission,  with  a  detachment,  to  drive 
the  Infantry  from  their  covert.  Houston,  who  had  already 
decided  (for  reasons  known  then  only  to  himself,  but  apparent 
enough  the  next  day)  his  plan  and  time  for  action,  complied 
with  Col.  Sherman's  request,  although  he  gave  him  positive 
orders  not  to  advance  beyond  the  piece  of  timber,  or  endanger 
the  safety  of  his  men.  Houston  directed  him  to  take  two 
companies  of  his  Regiment.  He  preferred  charging  on  horse- 
back. Houston  gratified  him.  He  was  repulsed,  and  the  cir- 
cumstance produced  no  good  effect  upon  the  men. 

General  Houston,  as  appears  from  his  despatch,  which  we 
have  already  given,  was  resolved  to  choose  his  own  time  for 
fighting,  and  compensate,  for  his  want  of  numbers,  by  military 
skill  and  superior  advantage  in  position.  In  other  words,  he 
was  resolved  to  watch  his  opportunity  and  "  fight  the  enemy 
to  such  advantage  as  would  insure  victory,  though  the  odds 
were  greatly  against  him." 

Some  slight  skirmishing  followed,  which  ended  in  Santa 
Anna's  retiring  with  his  army  to  a  swell  in  the  Prairie,  with 
timber  and  water  in  his  rear.  His  position  was  near  the  bank 
of  the  Bay  of  San  Jacinto,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from 
ihe  Texian  camp,  where  he  commenced  a  fortification. 

Houston  was  well  satisfied  with  the  business  of  the  day  ; 
and  he  declared  to  one  of  his  confidential  officers  that  evening, 
that,  although  he  did  not  doubt  he  would  that  day  have  won  a 
victory,  if  he  had  pursued  the  enemy,  yet  it  would  have  been 
attended  with  a  heavy  loss  of  men — "  while,  to-morrow,"  says 
he,  "  I  will  conquer^  slaug-hter,  and  put  to  Jiight  the  entire 
Mexican  army — and  it  shall  not  cost  me  a  dozen  of  my  brave 


90  TREACHERY    IN    HOUSTON'S    CAMP. 

men."  Those  who  clamored  then,  and  have  clamored  since, 
about  Houston's  losing  so  fine  an  opportunity  of  fighting  on 
the  day  before  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  were,  without  doubt, 
brave  men — but  if  they  could  have  had  their  way  at  any  one 
time  after  Houston  took  the  command  at  Gonzales,  it  is  more 
than  certain  it  would  have  cost  another  Alamo  or  Goliad  tra- 
gedy, and  the  day  of  San  Jacinto  would  never  have  come. 

Evenins:  came  on,  and  Houston  was  about  to  withdraw  his 
army  from  the  field,  to  give  them  time  enough  for  refreshment 
and  repose,  and  to  prepare  for  the  following  day.  The  flight  of 
the  enemy  in  the  first  instance,  and  Santa  Anna's  rather  precipi- 
tate retreat  afterwards,  had  inspirited  the  Texian  army.  But 
Col.  Sherman,  who  was  determined  to  resort  to  a  ruse  for  the 
purpose  of  forcing  General  Houston  into  a  general  engage- 
ment that  day — now  pressed  the  General  most  earnestly  for 
leave  to  advance  with  his  Cavalry,  and  attempt  the  capture  of 
the  Mexican  field-piece.  Houston  discountenanced  the  move- 
ment altogether — for  he  felt  sure  that  his  plan  of  giving  battle 
to  the  enemy  the  next  day  would  succeed,  and  he  was  re- 
luctant to  peril  unnecessarily  the  life  of  a  single  man.  He 
also  had  some  reason  to  apprehend  a  similar  result  to  that 
which  followed  Sherman's  ill-advised  movement  that  morning. 
But  he  importuned  him  till  the  General  consented  he  might 
go  out  with  the  Cavalry  and  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  position 
and  forces  ;  but  he  peremptorily  ordered  him  by  no  means 
to  go  within  gun-shot  of  the  enemy,  nor  court  a  conflict. 
Houston  ordered  out  the  artillery  and  the  infantry  battalion  be- 
hind an  island  of  timber,  to  remain  concealed,  and  if  the  en- 
emy should  attack  Sherman's  command,  to  be  in  readiness  to 
meet  and  check  their  advances.  Sherman  disappeared  with  his 
Cavalry  behind  the  timber  the  enemy  had  occupied  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  Houston  and  his  staff"  awaited  the  result,  utterly  igno- 
rant of  the  ruse  of  Sherman  to  force  the  Texian  commander  into 
a  general  engagement,  and  therefore  unconscious  of  their  immi- 
nent peril.  The  reconnoitering  party  had  hardly  disappeared,  be- 
fore the  sound  of  firing  in  that  direction  was  heard.  In  a  single 
moment  a  suspicion  of  Sherman's  real  design  flashed  over 


THE    NIGHT    BI:F0RE    THK    BATTLE.  91 

Houston's  mind  ;  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  straight  to 
the  scene  of  action.  He  met  Col.  Sherman  coming  in.  Al- 
though he  had  not  succeeded  in  perilling  the  entire  army  by 
forcing  them  into  a  general  engagement,  yet  he  had  succeed- 
ed in  sacrificing  the  life  of  the  brave  Trask,  and  disabling  the 
intrepid  WoodlifT,  both  of  whom  were  now  being  borne  back. 
Houston  was  incensed,  for  all  this  had  been  done  in  direct 
violation  of  his  orders,  and  two  of  his  Spartan  soldiers  borne 
bleeding  by,  were  the  only  fruits  that  had  followed.  Gen. 
Foote's  History  (vol.  ii.,  p.  301)  declares  that  this  was  "a 
bold  and  well-conceived  ruse  to  delude  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  into  a  conflict  in  spite  of  the  monitions  of  his  cooler 
judgment,"  though  Sherman  has  since  had  the  effrontery  to 
delare  that  Gen.  Houston  sent  him  to  be  cut  off!  This  would 
seem  rather  a  singular  charge,  without  remembering  the  cir- 
cumstances, since  Houston  had  lost  neither  a  man  nor  a  beast 
in  his  retreat  to  the  Brazos, or  in  his  advance  to  San  Jacinto;  and 
on  the  night  before  the  battle,  he  certainly  had  no  men  to  spare. 
We  only  allude  to  the  circumstance,  however,  as  a  fair  sample 
of  the  countless  calumnies  which  disappointed  and  factious 
men  have  heaped  upon  the  name  of  Houston.  The  best  way 
to  kill  falsehood  is  to  publish  plain  truth — and  we  shall  not 
trouble  ourselves  to  deny  in  detail  the  thousand  and  one  false 
statements  which  have  been  published  against  the  Texas 
Senator. 

The  Texlan  army  now  retired  to  their  camp,  and  refreshed 
themselves  for  the  first  time  m  two  days.  "  The  enemy  in 
the  meantime  extended  the  right  flank  of  their  infantry,  so  as 
to  occupy  the  extreme  point  of  a  skirt  of  timber  on  the  bank  of 
the  San  Jacinto,  and  secured  their  left  by  a  fortification  about 
five  feet  high,  constructed  of  packs  and  baggage,  leaving  an 
opening  in  the  r enire  of  their  breast-work  in  which  their  artil- 
lery was  placed — ihe  cavalry  upon  the  left  wing."  (Extract 
from  Gen.  H.'s  oflScial  report.) 

Such  was  the  position  of  the  Mexican  army,  and  they  main- 
Jaiued  it  till  the  charge  was  made  the  next  day. 


CHAPTER     VIII. 


THE     HERO    OF    SAN    JACINTO. 


INURING  the  entire  presence  of  the  enemy,  on  the  first  day  the 
hostile  armies  met,  Houston  had  remained  on  horseback,  ex- 
posed to  their  artillery,  and  served  them  as  a  target.  Branches 
were  cut  down  over  his  head  by  cannon  balls,  and  one  shot 
struck  the  bit  of  his  horse's  bridle.  After  he  had  doubled  the 
vigilance  of  his  encampment,  to  render  surprise  impossible,  he 
was  prevailed  on  by  his  staff  to  take  some  rest,  for  he  had 
scarcely  eaten  or  slept  for  several  days.  It  was  now  evening 
twilight,  and  the  men  were  enjoying  a  hasty  repast  of  the  beef 
they  had  found  so  difficult  to  cook. 

Houston  laid  himself  down  under  an  old  oak,  with  the  coil 
of  the  artillery  rope  for  his  pillow.  From  the  day  he  took 
command  of  the  army,  he  had  never  been  known  to  have  one 
hour's  sound  rest.  His  onhj  time  of  repose  had  been  after  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  he  beat  three  taps  on  the  drum, 
which  he  had  done  every  morning  till  that  day.  At  four  o'clock, 
the  line  was  always  formed,  and  every  man  kept  under  arms 
till  daylight.  He  then  lay  down,  and  got  what  rest  he  could 
till  the  men  had  taken  their  breakfast,  and  were  ready  to 
march.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Rusk,  during  this  period, 
in  speaking  of  the  solicitude  he  suffered,  he  says :  "  I  will  do 
the  best  I  can ;  but,  be  assured,  the  fame  of  Jackson  could 
never  compensate  me  for  my  anxiety  and  mental  pain."  All 
this  suffering  arose  from  uncertainty.  He  had  expected  troops 
and  supplies,  and  waited  for  them  in  vain.  The  fall  of  the 
Alamo,  and  the  massacre  of  Fannin's  command,  had  dis- 
pirited his  men,  and  caused  desertions.  The  Government 
itself  had  fled  from  the  scene  of  danger,  consternation  had 
spread  through  Texas;  he  was  in  a  new  country,  without  the 
means  of  subsistence  or  transport ;  his  men  were  but  half 
clad  and  half  armed  ;  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  power- 


THE    MORNING    OF    SAN   JACINTO.  93 

ful  army,  whose  picket-guards  outnumbered  all  the  men  in  his 
camp,  and  he  could  decide  neither  the  day  nor  the  scene  of 
battle.  He  had  slept  on  the  wet  ground,  without  covering, 
his  only  dress  was  the  garb  of  a  hunter,  and  his  food  only 
kept  him  alive. 

It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  when  the  harrowings  of  suspense 
were  over,  and  he,  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  had  posted 
his  faithful  guards  and  fixed  his  iron  purpose,  that  this  man 
could  lie  down  and  sleep  calmly  and  profoundly  throughout 
the  entire  night.  But  he  was  probably  the  only  man  in  that 
camp  over  whose  mind  flitted  no  anxious  vision. 

The  night  which  preceded  the  bloody  slaughter  of  San 
Jacinto,  rolled  anxiously  away,  and  brightly  broke  forth  the 
morning  of  the  last  day  of  Texian  servitude.  Before  the  first 
grey  lines  shot  up  the  East,  three  strange  taps  of  a  drum  were 
heard  in  the  camp,  and  700  soldiers  sprang  to  their  feet  as  one 
man.  The  camp  was  busy  with  the  soldier-hum  of  prepara- 
tion for  battle  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  it  all,  Houston  slept  on 
calmly  and  profoundly.  The  soldiers  had  eaten  the  last  meal 
they  were  to  eat  till  they  had  won  their  independence.  They 
were  under  arms,  ready  for  the  struggle. 

At  last  the  glorious  sun  came  up  over  the  Prairie,  without  a 
sinsle  cloud.  It  shone  full  and  clear  in  the  face  of  the  Hero, 
and  it  waked  him  to  battle.  He  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  the  sun  of  Austerlitz  has  risen  again."  His  face 
was  calm,  and  for  the  first  time  in  many  weeks,  every  shade 
of  trouble  had  moved  away  from  his  brow.  He  ordered  his 
Commissary  General,  Col.  John  Forbes,  to  provide  two  good 
axes,  and  then  sent  for  Deaf  Smith.  He  took  this  faithful  and 
intrepid  man  aside,  and  ordered  him  to  conceal  the  axes  in  a 
safe  place  near  by,  where  he  could  lay  his  hands  on  them  at  a 
moment's  warning,  and  not  to  pass  the  lines  of  the  sentinels 
that  day  without  his  special  orders,  nor  to  be  out  of  his  call. 

Morning  wore  away,  and  about  nine  o'clock,  a  large  body  of 
men  was  seen  moving  over  a  swell  of  the  Prairie  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Santa  Anna's  camp.  They  were  believed  to  be  a 
powerful  force  which  had  come  to  join  the  Mexicans,  and  the 


94  THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    VINCE's    BRIDGE. 

spectacle  produced  no  little  excitement  in  the  Texian  lines. 
Houston  saw  it  at  a  glance,  and  quelled  the  apprehension  by 
coolly  remarking,  that  "  they  were  the  same  men  they  had 
seen  the  day  before — they  had  marched  round  the  swell  in  the 
prairie  and  returned  in  sight  of  the  Texian  camp  to  alarm 
their  foe,  with  the  appearance  of  an  immense  reinforcement — 
for  it  was  very  evident  Santa  4nna  did  not  wish  to  fight.  But 
it  was  all  a  ruse  deg-uen-e  that  could  be  easily  seen  through — a 
7nere  Mexican  trick.''^ 

All  this  did  very  well,  and  yet  Houston,  of  course,  had 
quite  a  different  notion  on  the  subject.     He  sent  Deaf  Smith 
and  a  comrade  with  confidential  orders  as  spies  on  their  rear- 
ward march.     They  soon  returned,  and  reported  publicly  that 
"the    General  was    right — it   was    all  a  humbug."     A   few 
minutes  after.  Deaf   Smith  whispered  quite  another  story  in 
the  private  ear  of  the  commander.     The  enemy  seen  was  a 
reinforcement  of  540  men,  under  Gen.  Cos,  who  had  heard 
Santa  Anna's  cannon  the  day  before  on  the  Brazos,  and  come 
on  by  forced  marches  to  join   his  standard.     But  the  secret 
was  kept  till  it  did  no  harm  to  reveal  it.     A  proposition  was 
made  to  the  General  to  construct  a  floating  bridge  over  Buf- 
falo Bayou,  "which  might  be  used  in  the  event  of  danger." 
Houston  ordered  his  Adjutant  and  Inspector  Generals  and  an 
Aide  to  ascertain  if  the  necessary  materials  could  be  obtained. 
They  reported  that  by  tearing  down  a  house  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, they  could.     "  We  will  postpone  it  awhile  at  all  events," 
was  Houston's  reply.     In  the  meantime,  he  had  ordered  Deaf 
Smith  to  report  to  him,  with  a  companion,  well  mounted.    He 
retired  with  them  to  the  spot  where  the  axes  had  been  depo- 
sited in  the  morning.     Taking  one  in  either  hand,  and  ex- 
amining them  carefully,  he  handed  them  to  the  two  trusty  fel- 
lows, saying,  "  Now,  my  friends,  take  these  axes,  mount,  and 
make  the  best  of  your  way  to  Vince's  bridge  ;  cut  it  down, 
and  burn  it  up,  and  come  back  like  eagles,  or  you  will  be  too 
late  for  the  day."    This  was  the  bridge  over  which  both  armies 
had  crossed  in  their  march  to  the  battle  ground  of  San  Ja- 
cinto, and  it  cut  off  all  chance  of  escape  for  the  vanquished. 


ORDER    OF    BATTLE.  95 

"  This,"  said  Deaf  Smith,  in  his  droll  way,  "  looks  a  good 
deal  like  fight.  General." 

The  reader  will  not  fail  to  notice  the  difference  between 
Houston's  calculations  of  the  results  of  that  day,  and  those  of 
some  of  his  officers.  They  bethought  themselves  of  building 
a  neiv  bridge — he  of  cutting  down  and  burning  up  the  only 
bridge  in  the  neighborhood.  The  fact  was,  Houston  was  de- 
termined his  army  should  come  off  victorious  that  day,  or 
leave  their  bodies  on  the  field. 

The  day  was  now  wearing  away;  it  was  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  yet  the  enemy  kept  concealed  behind  his 
breast-works,  and  manifested  no  disposition  to  come  to  an  en- 
gagement. Events  had  taken  just  such  a  current  as  Houston 
expected  and  desired,  and  he  began  to  prepare  for  battle. 

In  describing  his  plan  of  attack,  we  borrow  the  language 
of  his  ofKcial  report,  after  the  battle  was  over.  "  The  1st 
Regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Burleson,  was  assigned  the 
centre.  The  2d  Regiment,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Sher- 
man, formed  the  left  wing  of  the  army.  The  artillery,  under 
the  special  command  of  Col.  George  W.  Hockley,  Inspector- 
general,  was  placed  on  the  right  of  the  1st  Regiment,  and  four 
companies  of  infantry,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Col. 
Henry  Millard,  sustained  the  artillery  upon  the  right.  Our 
cavalry,  sixty-one  in  number,  commanded  by  Col.  Mirabeau 
B.  Lamar,  placed  on  our  extreme  right,  completed  our  line. 
Our  cavalry  was  first  despatched  to  the  front  of  the  enemy's 
left,  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  their  notice,  whilst  an  exten- 
sive island  of  timber  afforded  us  an  opportunity  of  concen- 
trating our  forces  and  displaying  from  that  point,  agreeably  to 
the  previous  design  of  the  troops.  Every  evolution  was  per- 
formed with  alacrity,  the  whole  advancing  rapidly  in  line,  and 
through  an  open  prairie,  without  any  protection  whatever  for 
our  men.  The  artillery  advanced  and  took  station  within  two 
hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  breast-work." 

Those  who  expect  a  minute  and  accurate  account  of  this 
engagement  from  the  writer  or  any  one  else  must  be  disap- 


96  CHARGE  OF  THE  TEXIAN  ARMY. 

pointed,  for  no  such  description  can  ever  be  written.  It  was 
a  slaiig-hter  more  than  a  battle.  We  can  only  give  the  reader, 
with  the  aid  of  an  illustration,  a  perfect  idea  of  the  position  of 
both  armies  when  the  engagement  began, — fill  up  the  interval 
of  the  next  few  minutes  with  blood  and  smoke  and  cries  and 
slaughter,  and  then  tell  the  almost  incredible  result.  The  two 
armies  were  now  drawn  up  in  complete  order.  There  were 
700  Texians  on  the  field,  and  Santa  Anna's  troops  numbered 
over  eighteen  hundred.  Houston  had  informed  Mr.  Rusk  of  the 
plan  of  the  battle,  and  he  approved  of  it  as  perfect.  The  Secre- 
tary, it  is  true,  had  never  been  a  soldier — he  understood  little  of 
military  evolutions  or  the  discipline  of  an  array  ; — but  Houston 
knew  he  carried  a  lion-heart  in  his  bosom,  and  he  assigned  him 
the  command  of  the  left  wing.  The  General  of  course  led  the 
centre. 

Everything  was  now  ready,  and  every  man  at  his  post 
waiting  for  the  charge.  The  two  six  pounders  had  commenc- 
ed a  well  directed  fire  of  grape  and  canister,  and  they  shat- 
tered bones  and  baggage  where  they  struck.  The  moment 
had  at  last  come.  Houston  ordered  the  charge  and  sounded 
out  the  war  cry.  Remember  the  Alamo.  These  magic  words 
struck  the  ear  of  every  soldier  at  the  same  instant,  and  the  Ala- 
mo !  the  Alamo  !  went  up  from  the  army  in  one  wild  scream, 
which  sent  terror  through  the  Mexican  host.  At  that  moment 
a  rider  came  up  on  a  horse  covered  with  mire  and  foam,  swing- 
ing an  axe  over  his  head,  and  dashed  along  the  Texian  lines, 
crying  out,  as  he  had  been  instructed  to  do,  "  1  have  cut  down 
Vince's  bridge — now  fight  for  your  lives  and  remember  the 
Alamo," — and  then  the  solid  phalanx  which  had  been  held 
back  for  a  moment  at  the  announcement,  launched  forward 
upon  the  breast-works  like  an  avalanche  of  fire.  Houston 
spurred  his  horse  on  at  the  head  of  the  centre  column  right 
into  the  face  of  the  foe. 

The  Mexican  army  was  drawn  up  in  perfect  order,  ready  to 
receive  the  attack,  and  when  the  Texians  were  within  about 
sixty  paces,  and  before  they  had  fired  a  rifle,  a  general  flash 
was  seen  along  the  Mexican  lines  and  a  storm  of  bullets  went 


THE  WORK    OP    SLAUGHTER.  9^ 

rushing  over  the  Texian  arraj.  They  fired  too  high — several 
balh  struck  Houston's  horse  in  the  breast,  and  one  ball  shat- 
tered the  General's  ankle.  The  noble  animal  staggered  tor  a 
moment,  but  Houston  spurred  him  on.  If  the  first  discharge 
of  the  Mexicans  had  been  well  directed,  it  would  have  thinned 
the  Texian  ranks.  But  they  pressed  on,  reserving  their  fire 
till  each  man  could  choose  some  particular  soldier  for  his  tax- 
get,  and  before  the  Mexic-ans  could  reload,  a  murderous  dis- 
charge of  rifle  balls  was  poured  into  their  very  bosoms.  The 
Texian  soldiers  rushed  on.  They  were  without  bayonets,  but 
they  converted  their  rifles  into  war<-lubs  and  levelled  Them 
upon  the  heads  of  Santa  Anna's  men.  Along  the  breast-work 
there  was  little  more  firing  of  muskets  or  rifles — it  was  a  des- 
perate struggle  hand  to  hand.  The  Texians,  w^hen  they  had 
broken  off  their  rifles  at  the  breech,  bv  smashinof  in  the  skulls 
of  their  enemies,  flung  them  down  and  drew  their  pistols. 
They  fired  them  once,  and  having  no  time  to  reload,  hurled 
them  against  the  heads  of  their  foes,  and  then  drawing  tbrtli 
their  bowie-knives,  literally  cut  their  way  through  dense  masses 
of  living  flesh. 

It  would  be  a  sad  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Mexicans 
played  the  coward  that  day — for  they  were  slain  by  hundreds 
in  the  ranks  where  they  stood  when  the  battle  began — bat  the 
fierce  vengeance  of  the  Texians  could  not  be  resisted.  They 
fought  as  none  but  freemen  can  fight,  when  they  are  striking 
for  their  homes,  their  families,  and  their  dead  kindred.  The 
Mexican  officers  and  men  stood  firm  for  a  time,  but  the  Texi- 
ans stamped  on  them  as  fast  as  they  fell,  and  trampled  the 
prostrate  and  the  dyinsr  down  with  the  dead,  and  clambering 
over  the  groaning,  bleedins:  mass,  plunged  their  knives  into  the 
bosoms  of  those  in  the  rear.  When  they  saw  that  the  dread- 
ful on?etof  their  foe  could  not  be  resisted,  they  either  attempted 
to  fly,  and  were  stabbed  in  the  back  or  fell  on  their  knees  to 
plead  for  mercy,  crying,  ^  me  no  Alamo  H  ^  me  no  Alamo  .^' 
"  me  no  Alam^D  /''  These  unfortunate  slaves  of  the  Mexican 
tyrant  had  witnessed  that  brutal  massaCTe  of  brave  men.  aad 
now  they  could  think  of  no  other  claim  for  mercy,  but  the  plea 


98  THE    STRUGGLE    FOR   LIFE. 

they  were  not  there,  for  they  knew  the  day  of  vengeance  for 
the  Alamo  had  at  last  come. 

But  before  the  centre  breast-work  had  been  carried,  the  right 
and  left  wing  of  the  enemy  had  been  put  to  the  rout  or  the 
slaughter.  The  Mexicans,  however,  not  only  stood  their 
ground  at  first,  but  made  several  bold  charges  upon  the  Texian 
lines. 

A  division  of  their  Infantry,  of  more  than  five  hundred  men, 
made  a  gallant  charge,  in  handsome  order,  upon  the  Battalion 
of  Texian  Infantry.  Seeing  them  hard  pressed,  by  a  force  of 
three  to  one,  the  Commander-in-chief  dashed  between  them 
and  the  enemy's  column,  exclaiming—"  Come  on,  my  brave 
fellows,  your  General  leads  you."  The  Battalion  halted  and 
wheeled  into  perfect  order,  like  a  veteran  corps,  and  Houston 
gave  the  order  to  fire.  If  the  guns  of  the  Texians  had  all  been 
moved  by  machinery  they  could  not  have  been  fired  nearer 
the  same  instant.  There  was  a  single  explosion  ; — the  batta- 
lion rushed  through  the  smoke,  and  those  who  had  not  been 
mowed  down  by  the  bullets  were  struck  down  by  the  cleaving 
blows  of  uplifted  rilies  ;  and  the  prostrate  column  were  tram- 
pled into  the  mire  together.  Of  the  five  hundred,  only  thirty- 
two  lived,  even  to  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war. 

In  the  meantime,  although  Houston's  wound  was  bleeding 
profusely,  and  his  dying  horse  could  scarce  stagger  his  way 
over  the  slain,  yet  the  Commander-in-chief  saw  every  move- 
ment of  his  army,  and  followed  the  tide  of  battle  as  it  rolled 
over  the  field.  Wherever  his  eye  fell  he  saw  the  Mexicans 
staggering  back  under  the  resistless  shock  of  his  heroic  sol- 
diers. Regiments  and  Battalions,  Cavalry  and  Infantry, 
horses  and  men,  were  hurled  together,  and  every  officer  and 
every  man  seemed  to  be  bent  upon  a  work  of  slaughter  for 
himself. 

The  Mexican  army  had  now  been  driven  from  their  posi- 
tion, and  were  flying  before  their  pursuers.  Houston  saw 
that  the  battle  was  won,  and  he  rode  over  the  field  and  gave 
his  orders  to  stop  the  carnage  of  the  wounded,  and  those 
who  surrendered.     But  it  would  have  been  easier  to  stop  the 


THE    DAY    OF    VENGEANCE.  99 

ill-rolling  tide  of  the  sea.  He  had  given  the  Alamo  for  their 
war-cry,  and  the  magic  word  could  not  be  recalled.  The 
ghosts  of  brave  men,  massacred  at  Goliad  and  the  Alamo,  flitted 
through  the  smoke  of  battle,  and  the  uplifted  hand  could  not 
be  stayed.  "  While  the  battle  was  in  progress,"  says  General 
Rusk,  "  the  celebrated  Deaf  Smith,  although  on  horseback, 
fighting,  was  with  the  infantry.  When  they  got  pretty  near 
the  enemy.  Smith  galloped  on  ahead,  and  dashed  directly  up 
to  the  Mexican  line.  Just  as  he  reached  it,  his  horse  stumbled 
and  fell,  throwing  him  on  his  head  among  the  enemy.  Hav- 
ing dropped  his  sword  in  the  fall,  he  drew  one  of  his  belt-pis- 
tols, presented  it  at  the  head  of  a  Mexican,  who  was  attempt- 
ing to  bayonet  him,  and  it  missed  fire.  Smith  then  hurled 
the  pistol  itself  at  the  head  of  the  Mexican,  and,  as  he  stag- 
gered back,  he  seized  his  gun,  and  began  his  work  of  de- 
struction. A  young  man,  by  the  name  of  Robbins,  dropped 
his  gun  in  the  confusion  of  the  battle,  and  happening  to  run 
directly  in  contact  with  a  Mexican  soldier  who  had  also  lost 
his  musket,  the  Mexican  seized  Robbins,  and  both  being  stout 
men,  rolled  to  the  ground.  But  Robbins  drew  out  his  Bowie- 
knife,  and  ended  the  contest  by  cutting  the  Mexican's  throat 
On  starting  out  from  our  camp,  to  enter  upon  the  attack,  I 
saw  an  old  man,  by  the  name  of  Curtis,  carrying  two  guns. 
I  asked  him  what  reason  he  had  for  carrying  more  than  one 
gun.  He  answered :  '  D — n  the  Mexicans ;  they  killed  my 
son  and  son-in-law  in  the  Alamo,  and  I  intend  to  kill  two  of 
them  for  it,  or  be  killed  myself.'  I  saw  the  old  man  again 
during  the  fight,  and  he  told  me  '  he  had  killed  his  two  men  ; 
and  if  he  could  find  Santa  Anna  himself  he  would  cut  out  a 
razor-strap  from  his  back.'  " 

Such  was  the  day  of  vengeance.  It  was  not  strange  that 
no  invading  army,  however  brave,  could  long  withstand  so 
dreadful  an  onset.  "  When  the  Mexicans  were  first  driven 
from  the  point  of  woods  where  we  encountered  them,"  con- 
tinues General  Rusk,  "  their  officers  tried  to  rally  them,  but 
the  men  cried,  *  It's  no  use,  it's  no  use,  there  are  a  thousand 
Americans  in  the  woods.'    When  Santa  Anna  saw  Almonte's 


100  THE    FLIGHT    TO    VINCE'S    BRIDGE. 

Division  running  past  him,  he  called  a  drummer,  and  ordered 
him  to  beat  his  drum.  The  drummer  held  up  his  hands  and 
told  him  he  was  shot.  He  called  then  to  a  trumpeter  near  him 
to  sound  his  horn.  The  trumpeter  replied  that  he,  also,  was 
shot.  Just  at  that  instant  a  ball  from  one  of  our  cannon  struck 
a  man  who  was  standing  near  Santa  Anna,  taking  off  one 
side  of  his  head.  Santa  Anna  then  exclaimed,  '  D — n  these 
Americans  ;  I  believe  they  will  shoot  us  all.'  He  immediately 
mounted  his  horse,  and  commenced  his  flight." 

The  flight  had  now  become  universal.  The  Texians  had 
left  on  the  ground,  where  the  battle  began,  more  than  their 
entire  number,  dying  and  dead  ;  and  far  away  over  the  Prairie 
they  were  chasing  the  flying,  and  following  up  the  slaughter. 
Multitudes  were  overtaken  and  killed  as  they  were  making 
their  escape  through  the  deep  grass.  The  Mexican  cavalry 
were  well  mounted,  and  after  the  event  they  struck  deep  their 
spurs  into  their  fleet  horses,  and  turned  their  heads  towards 
Vince's  Bridge.  They  were  hotly  pursued  by  the  victors,  and 
when  the  latter  came  up,  the  most  appalling  spectacle,  per- 
haps, of  the  entire  day,  was  witnessed.  When  the  fugitive 
horsemen  saw  that  the  bridge  was  gone,  some  of  them,  in 
their  desperation,  spurred  their  horses  down  the  steep  bank  ; 
others  dismounted  and  plunged  into  the  stream  ;  some  were 
entangled  in  their  trappings,  and  were  dragged  down  with 
their  struggling  steeds ;  others  sunk  at  once  to  the  bottom ; 
while  those  whose  horses  reached  the  opposite  bank  fell  back- 
wards into  the  river.  In  the  meantime,  while  they  were  strug- 
gling with  the  flood,  their  pursuers,  who  had  come  up,  were 
pouring  down  upon  them  a  deadly  fire,  which  cut  off  all 
escape.  Horses  and  men,  by  hundreds,  rolled  down  together  ; 
the  waters  were  red  with  their  blood,  and  filled  with  their 
dying  gurgles.  The  deep,  turbid  stream,  was  literally  choked 
with  the  dead ! 

A  similar  spectacle  was  witnessed  on  the  Southern  verge 
of  the  Island  of  Trees,  near  the  Mexican  encampment,  in  the 
rear  of  the  battle  ground.  There  was  little  chance  of  escape 
in  this  quarter,  for  a  deep  morass  was  to  be  passed,  and  yet 


THE    VICTORY.  101 

multitudes,  in  their  desperation,  had  rushed  to  this  spot  as  a 
forlorn  hope.  They  had  plunged  into  the  mire  and  water  with 
horses  and  mules,  and,  in  attempting  to  pass,  had  been  com- 
pletely submerged ;  every  one  who  seemed  likely  to  escape 
soon  received  a  ball  from  the  murderous  aim  of  a  practised 
rifleman,  and  the  morass  was  literally  bridged  over  with  car- 
casses of  dead  mules,  horses,  and  men. 

But  a  company  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  cooler  or 
braver  men  had  rallied  in  the  Island  of  Trees,  under  Almonte, 
prepared  to  resist  or  surrender  rather  than  fly.  Houston  ral- 
lied as  large  a  body  of  men  as  could  be  assembled,  and  was 
preparing  to  lead  them  to  the  charge,  when  his  gallant  horse, 
that  had  so  nobly  borne  his  rider  through  the  carnage  of  the 
battle,  with  seven  balls  in  his  body,  at  last  staggered  and  fell 
dead.  Houston,  in  dismounting,  struck  upon  his  wounded 
leg  and  fell  to  the  earth.  It  was  now  discovered,  for  the  first 
time,  that  he  was  wounded.  Alarm  immediately  spread  over 
the  field.  Houston  called  for  General  Rusk  and  gave  him  the 
command.  He  was  then  helped  upon  another  horse  by  the 
officers  of  his  staff,  and  General  Rusk  advanced  with  his 
newly-formed  company  upon  the  last  remnant  of  the  Mexican 
Army.  Its  commander,  however,  came  promptly  forward  and 
surrendered  his  sword.  Houston  then  cast  a  glance  over  the 
field  and  said,  "  I  think  now,  gentlemen,  we  are  likely  to  have 
no  more  trouble  to-day,  and  I  believe  I  will  return  to  the 
Camp." 

The  party  then  rode  slowly  off  from  the  field  of  victory  and 
the  resting  place  of  the  dead,  and  returned  to  the  oak,  at  whose 
foot  the  hero  of  San  Jacinto  had  slept  till  the  "  Sun  of  Aus- 
terlitz"  had  woke  him  that  morning.  All  resistance  to  the 
arms  of  Texas  ceased.  The  pursuers  returned  to  the  camp, 
where  a  command  was  left  to  guard  the  spoils  taken  from  the 
enemy.  As  the  Commander-in-Chief  was  riding  across  the 
field  the  victorious  soldiers  came  up  in  crowds,  and  slapping 
him  rudely  on  his  wounded  leg,  exclaimed — "  Now,  arn't  we 
brave  fellows.  General?"  "  Yes,  boys,  you  have  covered 
yourselves  with   glory,  and  I  decree  to  you  the  spoils  of  vie- 


102  THE    SPOILS  OF  VICTORY. 

tory ;  I  will  reward  valor.     I  only  claim  to  share  the  honors 
of  our  triumph  with  you." 

While  he  was  giving  his  orders,  after  he  reached  the  Texian 
encampment,  and  before  he  dismounted,  General  Rusk  came 
in  and  presented  his  prisoner  Almonte.  It  was  the  first  time 
they  had  ever  met.  This  seemed  to  give  a  finishing  stroke  to 
the  victory,  and  Houston,  who  was  completely  exhausted  from 
fatigue  and  loss  of  blood,  fainted  and  fell  from  his  horse. 
Colonel  Hockley  caught  him  in  his  arms,  and  laid  him  at  the 
foot  of  the  oak. 

Thus  ended  the  bloody  day  of  San  Jacinto — a  battle  that 
has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  war.  Its  immediate 
fruits  were  not  small — for  the  spoils  were  of  great  value  to 
men  who  had  nothing  in  the  morning  but  the  arms  they  car- 
ried, scanty,  coarse  clothinor,  and  the  determination  to  be  free. 
About  900  stand  of  English  muskets  (besides  a  vast  number 
that  were  lost  in  the  Morass  and  Bayou),  300  sabres,  and  200 
pistols,  800  valuable  mules,  a  hundred  fine  horses,  a  good  lot 
of  provisions,  clothing,  tents,  and  paraphernalia  for  officers  and 
men,  and  twelve  thousand  dollars  in  silver,  constituted  the 
principal  spoils. 

But  the  booty  was  esteemed  meaner  than  nothing,  in  com- 
parison with  the  great  moral  and  political  consequences  that 
attended  the  victory.  On  that  well-fought  field  Texian  Inde- 
pendence was  won.  A  brave,  but  an  outraged  people,  in  imi- 
tation of  their  fathers  of  the  last  age,  had  entrusted  their  cause 
to  the  adjudication  of  battle,  and  God  took  cure  of  the  issue. 
For  my  own  part,  I  can  find  in  the  whole  range  of  History  no 
spectacle  more  sublime.  It  was  not  a  struggle  for  the  aggran- 
dizement of  some  military  chieftain — nor  was  it  a  strife  for 
empire — the  soldiers,  who  marched  under  the  "  Lone  Star" 
into  that  engagement,  were  free,  brave,  self-relying  men.  Some 
of  them,  indeed,  had  come  from  a  neighboring  Republic,  as 
Lafayette  crossed  the  sea,  to  join  in  the  struggles  of  freedom, 
but  most  of  the  Texian  army  were  men  who  cultivated  the 
soil  they  fought  on,  and  had  paid  for  it  with  their  money  or 
their  labor.     Hundreds  of  them  had  abandoned  their  fugitive 


ADVANCEMENT    OF    THE    ANGLO-SAXON    RACE.  103 

wives  to  achieve  everlasting  freedom  for  their  children.  They 
were  fighting  for  all  that  makes  life  worth  having,  or  gives 
value  to  its  possessions. 

And  when  the  victors  laid  themselves  down  to  rest  that 
night,  and  Heaven  folded  its  blue  curtains  kindly  around 
them,  and  they  thought  that  their  troubles  and  anxieties  were 
over — that  they  could  now  return  to  the  embrace  of  their  happy 
families  with  the  hope  of  a  long  and  peaceful  life  of  earnest 
and  manly  endeavor,  and  a  quiet  old  age,  when  they  should 
hold  their  grand-children  on  their  knee,  and  tell  them  the  story 
of  the  bloody  day  of  San  Jacinto — it  is  not  strange  that  they 
felt  more  than  compensated  for  all  their  privations  and  all  their 
sufferings. 

But  the  sublimity  of  the  spectacle  is  lost  unless  the  eye  has 
scope  for  a  wider  field  of  vision.  There  are  events  whose 
consequences  can  be  measured  by  no  estimate  into  whose  cal- 
culation centuries  do  not  come.  If  the  historian  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  could  have  lived  a  century  longer,  he  might 
have  perceived  clearly  what  is  now  reduced  only  to  a  question 
of  time^  that  from  the  day  the  Mayflower  swung  round  to  her 
mooring  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth,  the  sceptre  of  the  New 
World  passed  for  ever  into  the  nervous  hand  of  the  Anglo-Sax- 
on race.  But  for  a  long  period  this  grand  result  seemed  im- 
possible, and  he  who  should  have  proclaimed  that  it  would  one 
day  take  place,  would  have  been  called  a  dreamer.  Spain  and 
Portugal,  France  and  England,  had  divided  the  Northern  and 
Southern  Hemisphere  of  the  new  found  World.  But  the 
French  empire  in  America  received  a  fatal  shock  when  Eng- 
land wrested  from  it  the  Canadas  in  1763;  and  she  afterwards 
lost  by  diplomacy  what  could  not  be  wrested  from  her  in  bat- 
tle.—  One  dominion  then  disappeared. 

At  last,  when  it  became  apparent  that  even  Englishmen  in 
America  could  not  develope  their  strength  under  British  sway, 
the  drama  of  '76  began,  and  all  that  was  valuable  in  the  New 
Continent  that  belonged  to  England,  became  the  heritage  of 
her  American  children.      This  ivas  the  second  ^reat  act. 

In  the  meantime  the  powerful  savage  tribes,   whose  wig- 


104  WHY    AMERICANS    FIRST    WENT    TO    TEXAS. 

warns  served  as  beacon  fires  to  the  earliest  voyagers  along  the 
Atlantic  coast,  melted  away  before  the  steady  advance  of  Eu- 
ropean population,  and  the  Indian  dominion  passed  away. 

At  last,  the  American  people,  this  neiv  form  of  humanitij — 
which  concentrated  in  itself  nearly  all  those  qualities,  which,  in 
past  times,  had  given  empire  to  separate  nations,  began  to  cross 
the  frontiers  of  that  ancient  power  which,  for  three  hundred 
years,  had  made  the  fair  valley  of  the  Montezumas  the  seat  of 
their  dominion.  But  this  began  in  nn  encroachment — no  inva- 
sion upon  the  rights  or  soil  of  a  neig-hboring  state.  Mexico, 
although  she  had  caught  enough  of  the  all-pervading  spirit  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  to  rise  and  shake  off  the  foul  mantle  of  Span- 
ish despotism,  had  not  vital  energy  enough  left  within  herself  to 
work  out  her  own  political  regeneration.  STie  had  been  too 
long  bowed  into  the  dust  by  the  foreign  tyrant — she  had  been 
too  long  steeped  in  the  besotted  bigotry  of  superstition — she 
had  never  thought  or  acted  for  herself — she  had  no  clear  per- 
ception of  human  rights — no  intelligent  idea  of  liberty.  She 
did  not  know  that  a  nation  never  can  grow  rich  by  abandoning 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  digging  gold  and  silver  from  the 
mine — she  could  not  understand  why  it  was  that  six  vigorous 
republics  had  grown  up  into  power  on  the  cold  barren  hills  of 
New  England,  while  she  had  become  feeble  and  impoverished 
in  the  midst  of  the  very  garden  of  the  world.  And  yet  she  be- 
lieved, if  she  could  once  introduce  that  northern  population  into 
her  limits,  she  could  borrow  from  them  the  secret  of  their  ma- 
gic power.  Her  statesmen  were  told  that  New  Englanders, 
when  they  found  they  could  not  get  their  bread  from  their 
rocky,  frozen  soil,  made  commerce  of  stones  and  grew  rich  by 
exporting  their  granite,  and  lime,  and  cobble-stones,  during  the 
summer,  and  sent  off  ship-loads  of  their  surplus  water  as  soon 
as  it  froze  in  winter,  albeit  they  had  to  find  their  market  for  it 
on  the  other  side  of  the  globe.  These,  said  the  Mexican 
statesmen,  are  the  men  we  must  get  to  colonize  our  vast  garden- 
province  of  Texas — for  we  have  for  three  centuries  tried  in 
vain  to  do  it  ourselves. 

So  that  fertile  territory  was  thrown  open  to  the  people  of  the 


PERFIDY    OF    MEXICAN    DICTATORS.  105 

United  States,  and  they  wore  plied  with  all  those  motives  of 
gain  and  pledges  of  protection  which,  in  the  mind  of  the 
pioneer  setller,  prove  too  strong  for  the  allurements  of  home. 
A  band  of  choice  spirits,  hardy,  working  men,  who  had  been 
trained  in  the  district  schools  of  New  York  and  New  England, 
and  cultivated  their  cold,  ungrateful  soil,  were  led  out  to  find 
their  new  homes  in  the  fair  province  of  New  Estramadura, 
where  all  nature  was  blushing  under  the  purple  light  of  the 
tropics.  At  their  head  went  Stephen  F.  Austin  ;  one  of  those 
few  men  upon  whose  incorruptible,  dauntless  truth,  a  young 
nation  finds  it  her  salvation  to  repose.  In  his  rare  and  great 
character,  all  that  was  lofty  in  the  Cavalier  and  uncompro- 
mising in  the  Puritan  was  mingled. 

He  entered  into  his  obligations  with  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment, and  conducted  all  his  negotiations  and  redeemed  all  his 
pledges,  in  good  faith.  For  a  time,  Mexico  stood  by  her  en- 
gagements, and  the  infant  colony  struck  its  roots  deep  into  the 
soil.  At  last  Mexico  discovered  that  the  very  qualities  from 
which  she  promised  herself  so  much  advantage — the  industry, 
the  enterprise,  the  inventions  of  the  new  colonists,  were  all  ow- 
ing to  that  intelligent  love  of  liberty  which  she  so  little  under- 
stood, and  yet  so  much  dreaded.  She  saw  that  men  who  had 
energy  enough  to  be  good  settlers,  where  Spaniards  had  failed, 
had  too  much  independence  ever  to  be  governed  as  Spaniards. 
But  she  found  out  her  mistake  only  when  it  was  too  late  to 
correct  it.  Like  the  ancient  Britons,  she  had  invited  a  supe- 
rior race  into  her  country,  unconscious  that  her  sceptre  would 
one  day  be  transferred  to  their  hands. 

This  was  the  point  upon  which  the  destiny  of  the  old  Span- 
ish empire  hinged.  Mexico  might  now  have  borrowed  from 
her  new  subjects  the  elements  of  an  entire  political  regenera- 
tion. These  colonists  were  not  ambitious  men — they  went 
there  only  to  cultivate  the  soil — but  they  had  carried,  of  necessity, 
their  civilisation  and  love  of  liberty  with  them,  and  they  could 
not  brook  the  tyranny  of  Mexican  Dictators.  They  went  pre-, 
pared  to  stand  by  the  Federal  Constitution  of  1824,  and  up  to 
the  2d  of  March,  1836,  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence 


106  TEXAS    COMPELLED    TO    FIGHT    FOR    LIFE. 

• 

was  signed,  all  the  protests  and  discontents,  all  the  demands 
and  petitions  of  the  Texianswere  limited  to  a  concession  of  the 
rights  secured  to  all  the  States  hy  that  Constitution  I 

But  Mexico  was  now  under  the  sway  of  selfish,  ambitious 
military  chieftains,  who,  in  the  struggle  for  supremacy,  had 
trampled  the  Constitution  of  1824  into  the  dust.  And  let  it  never 
be  forgotten,  that  when  the  political  agitations  of  Texas  began, 
and  the  will  of  the  entire  people  had  been  declared,  all  they 
asked  for,  and  all  they  desired  then,  was  to  see  the  Constitution 
of  1S24:  preserved  inviolate.  But  men,  who  are  driven  to  the 
wall  and  compelled  to  fight  for  life,  sometimes  fight  for  victory. 
Mr.  Austin  was  then  Commissioner  to  Mexico,  and  he  went  to 
the  Capital  with  his  memorial.  His  very  appearance  in  that 
city  with  the  prayer  of  his  colony,  that  the  Mexicans  would 
abide  by  their  own  constitution,  under  whose  solemn  pledges 
he  had  led  his  people  to  their  new  home — was  too  bitter  a  sar- 
casm upon  the  corrupt  tyrants  who  had  trampled  down  that 
high  compact,  and  he  was  plunged  into  a  foul  dungeon,  where 
for  many  months  he  never  saw  a  beam  of  sunshine,  nor  even 
the  hand  that  fed  him. 

How  was  all  this  tampering  with  Anglo-Saxon  men  to  end  ? 
— "Who,  that  knows  what  plighted  faith  means,  or  has  any  no- 
tion of  the  obligations  growing  out  of  a  political  compact,  will 
pretend  to  say  that  Texas  was  bound  to  submit  to  the  decrees 
of  a  Dictator  who  had  committed  high  treason  against  his  gov- 
ernment— treason  for  which  he  would  have  been  brought  to  the 
block  by  the  people  of  Mexico,  had  he  not  had  20,000  bayo- 
nets at  his  back.  The  Federal  compact  had  now  been  broken, 
and  by  the  highest  law  of  nations,  every  state  of  the  Union  not 
only  had  the  right,  but  was  bound  in  duty  to  take  care  of  itself. 
An  immediate  Declaration  of  Independence  would  have  been 
justified  by  the  world.  But  Texas  still  remonstrated,  and  still 
prayed.  All  she  ivanted,  ivas  a  return  to  the  Constitution  of 
1824.  But  that  Constitution  lay  bleeding  under  the  hoofs  of 
Santa  Anna's  battle  horse,  and  his  myrmidon  soldiers  had 
possession  of  the  Capital.  War  was  proclaimed  against  Texas 
by  Mexico,  because  she  would  not  acknowledge  a  Dictator; — 


THE    DRAMA    OF    THE    NEW    WORLD.  107 

and  an  invading  army  was  sent  across  the  Rio  Grande,  to  "  lay 
waste  the  infant  colony,  and  slaughter  all  its  inhabitants.'''' 

This  was  the  position  of  Texas — and  if  those  men  were  not 
justified  in  defending  their  wives  and  children  from  slaughter, 
and  their  dwellings  from  fire,  there  never  was  a  people  who 
had  a  right  to  smite  the  arm  of  a  tyrant.  The  heroes  of  '76 
rebelled  against  a  constitutional  government,  with  its  parlia- 
ment and  king,  because  they  were  required  to  pay  a  stamp  tax. 
The  Texians  never  rebelled  at  all.  They  would  not  bow  to  a 
Dictator  who  had  stamped  the  free  constitution  of  his  country 
under  his  feet; — and  now  a  war  of  extermination  was  pro- 
claimed. Seven  hundred  brave  men  were  slaughtered  and 
burned  to  ashes,  after  they  had,  under  a  solemn  pledge  that 
their  lives  should  be  spared,  surrendered  themselves  prisoners- 
of  war. 

The  red  flame  of  exterminating  war  was  now  rolling  over  the 
very  bosom  of  the  young  republic,  whose  only  crime  was  her 
loyalty  to  the  Federal  Constitution ! 

At  last  the  slaughter-day  of  San  Jacinto  came,  and  the  Texians 
who  went  into  battle  knew  that  every  one  of  them  would  have 
been  put  to  death  in  cold  blood,  if  the  enemy  had  conquered. 
Such  had  been  the  case  at  Goliad  and  the  Alamo,  and  such  was 
the  watch-word  of  the  advancing  Dictator.  But  high  over  the 
smoke  and  screams  of  the  field  of  San  Jacinto,  I  seem  to  see, 
and  I  do  see,  the  hand  of  the  God  of  Freedom  and  of  Ven- 
geance. His  purposes  were  unknown  to  man,  but  they  could  not 
be  overthrown.  The  wing  of  his  Almighty  Providence  had 
sheltered  the  bark  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  his  strong  arm  ha  1  been 
thrown  around  the  rude  homes  of  Plymouth.  Over  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  Provincial  Congress  He  again  presided,  and  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  His  will  was  done.  And  now, 
having  decreed,  that  the  broad  prairies  and  shining  rivers  of  that 
vast  land,  which  had  groaned  under  the  tramp  of  despotic 
power,  and  been  blasted  by  the  withering  blight  of  superstition 
for  ages,  should  be  regenerated  by  a  nobler  and  better  race.  He 
had  begun  to  reveal  his  great  purposes. 

The  last  act  of  this  drama,  which  had  begun  on  the  shores  of 


lOS  THE    DOMINION    OF    MEXICO    PASSING    AWAY. 

New  England,  was  to  be  opened  on  the  field  of  San  Jacinto. 
And  although  the  sun  gleamed  on  the  armor  of  more  than 
eighteen  hundred  men  that  morning,  and  when  the  Commander's 
bugles  sounded  the  charge,  he  was,  to  all  human  appearances, 
sure  of  a  victory ;  yet  the  result  proved  that  the  battle  is  not 
ahvays  to  the  strong— that  "  God  rules  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  and  giveth  its  kingdoms  lavishly  to  whomsoever  He 
will."  A  decree  had  gone  forth  against  that  army,  and  against 
the  sceptre  of  Spanish  power  in  Mexico — "  thy  dominion  is 
taken  from  thee." 

And  the  future  historian  will,  one  day,  open  his  scroll  by 
announcing  that  when  the  sun  went  down  over  the  groans  and 
the  slaughter  of  San  Jacinto,  the  dominion  of  Mexico  passed 
for  ever  away.  Such  had  been  the  first  four  acts  of  the  drama 
of  the  New  World. 

"  The  Fifth,  then  closed  the  Drama  with  the  day, 
Time's  noblest  offspring  was  the  last." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    VICTOR    AND    THE    CAPTIVE. 

The  battle  of  Independence  had  been  fought.  Seven  hundred 
soldiers  had  met  nearly  three  times  their  number,  and  come  off 
victorious.  Six  hundred  and  thirty  men  were  left  dead  on 
the  field ;  among  them  were,  one  general  officer,  four  colonels, 
two  lieutenant-colonels,  seven  captains,  and  twelve  lieutenants. 
Multitudes  had  perished  in  the  morass  and  the  bayous.  Of  the 
surviving,  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  were  wounded, 
and  there  were  nearly  eight  hundred  prisoners.  Only  seven 
men  are  known  to  have  escaped  from  the  field.  And  yet,  in- 
credible as  it  may  seem,  this  bloody  engagement  had  cost  the 
Texians  the  lives  of  only  seven  men,  and  less  than  thirty  had 
been  wounded.  It  was  incredible,  and  when  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  awoke  the  next  morning,  he  asked,  "  Are  we  really 
victors,  or  is  it  only  my  dream  1" 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Gen.  Houston  sent  a  detach- 
ment of  men  to  bury  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle  ;  but  de- 
composition had  taken  place  so  rapidly,  the  troops  returned 
and  reported  ihey  could  not  execute  his  order !  This  extraor- 
dinary circumstance  excited  the  greatest  surprise,  and  the 
Mexican  prisoners  accounted  for  it  by  resolving  it,  like  the 
defeat  of  the  previous  day,  into  "  a  malignant  blast  of  des- 
tiny." 

In  the  meantime,  a  large  number  of  Texians  were  scour- 
ing the  prairie  throughout  the  day,  and  bringing  in  prisoners. 
The  grass  was  everywhere  four  or  five  feet  high,  and  those 
who  had  not  been  taken  the  day  before,  were  now  crawling 
away  on  their  hands  and  knees,  hoping  thus  to  effect  their  es- 
cape, Santa  Anna  had  not  yet  been  taken,  but  the  victors 
were  scourins:  over  the  field  in  search  of  the  Dictator.  "  You 
will  find  the  Hero  of  Tampico,"  said  Houston,  "  if  you  find 
him  at   all,  making  his  retreat  on  all  fours,  and  he  will  be 


110 


CAPTURE    OF    SANTA    ANNA. 


dressed  as  bad  at  least  as  a  common  soldier.  Examine  every 
man  you  find,  closely." 

Lieutenant  Sylvester,  a  volunteer  of  Cincinnati,  was  riding 
over  the  prairie,  on  a  fine  horse,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, when  he  saw  a  man  making  his  way  towards  Vince's 
bridge.  The  moment  he  saw  he  was  pursued,  the  fugitive 
fell  down  in  the  grass.  Sylvester  dashed  on  in  that  direction, 
and  his  horse  came  very  near  trampling  him  down.  The  man 
sprang  to  his  feet,  and  apparently  without  the  slightest  surprise, 
looked  his  captor  full  in  the  face.  He  was  disguised  in  a 
miserable  rustic  dress.  He  wore  a  skin-cap,  a  round  jacket, 
and  pantaloons  of  blue  domestic  cotton,  and  a  pair  of  coarse, 
soldier's  shoes.  But  his  face  and  his  manners  bespoke,  too 
plainly,  that  he  belonged  to  a  different  class  than  his  garb  be- 
tokened ;  and  underneath  his  coarse  disguise,  Sylvester  saw 
that  he  wore  a  shirt  of  the  finest  linen  cambric.  "  You  are  an 
oflicer,  I  perceive,  sir,"  said  the  horseman,  raising  his  cap  po- 
litely. "  No,  soldier,"  was  his  reply  ;  and  he  drew  out  a  letter 
in  Spanish,  addressed  to  Almonte.  When  he  saw  there  was 
no  hope  of  escape,  he  inquired  for  General  Houston.  By  this 
time,  Sylvester  had  been  joined  by  several  of  his  comrades, 
and  mounting  his  prisoner  behind  him,  they  rode  off  together, 
on  the  same  horse,  to  the  camp,  several  miles  distant.  As  he 
rode  by  the  Mexican  prisoners,  they  exclaimed  with  the  great- 
est surprise  as  they  lifted  their  caps,  "  El  Presidente  .'" 

Tn  a  single  moment,  the  news  spread  through  the  camp 
that  Gen.  Santa  Anna  was  a  prisoner,  and  the  Dictator  was 
taken  to  Houston,  The  General  was  lying  on  the  ground, 
and  having  slept  little  during  the  night,  in  consequence  of  his 
wound,  had  now  fallen  into  a  doze.  Santa  Anna  came  up 
behind  him,  and  took  his  hand.  Houston  roused  himself,  and 
turning  over,  gazed  up  in  the  face  of  the  Mexican,  who  ex- 
tended his  left  arm,  and  laying  his  right  hand  on  his  heart, 
said,  '■'■lam  General  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna,  President 
of  the  Mexican  Republic,  and  1  claim  to  be  your  prisoner  of 
war:''  Houston  waved  his  hand  to  a  box,  for  it  was  the  only 
seat  in  the  camp,  and  asked  his  prisoner  to  be  seated ;   and 


MEETING    OF    THE    TWO    GENERALS.  Ill 

then  sent  for  Almonte,  who  spoke  English  perfectly,  request- 
ing him  to  act  as  interpreter. 

In  the  meantime,  Santa  Anna  had  taken  his  seat,  and  glanc- 
ing his  keen  eye  occasionally  around  the  camp,  with  a  timid 
expression,  pressed  the  sides  of  his  breasts  with  both  hands, 
and  gave  two  or  three  half-suppressed  groans,  like  a  man  who 
was  suffering  deep  pain.  An  interesting  incident  took  place 
about  this  time,  which  is  thus  related  by  Gen.  Rusk :  "  At  the 
time  Santa  Anna  was  brought  into  our  camj),  I  was  walking 
with  young  Zavala.  (The  reader  will  recognize  in  this  youth- 
ful character,  the  son  of  the  noble  and  venerable  Zavala,  who 
distinguished  himself  as  the  friend  of  Texian  independence.) 
We  approached  him  together.  Santa  Anna  recognized  young 
Zavala  at  once,  and  advanced  to  meet  him  with  great  appa- 
rent cordiality,  uttering  many  expressions  of  kindness,  such  as 
are  customary  among  the  Mexicans  on  such  occasions,  several 
of  which  I  remember.  Among  other  things,  he  exclaimed 
"  Oh !  my  friend,  my  friend,  the  son  of  my  early  friend ;" 
with  which,  and  other  exclamations  in  the  same  strain,  he  em- 
braced young  Zavala,  with  high  indications  of  apparent  feel- 
ing, and  I  think,  dropping-  a  tear.  Young  Zavala  returned  his 
greeting  with  that  deference  which  would  have  been  due  to 
his  former  rank  and  power;  but  at  the  same  time,  emitting 
from  his  countenance  an  expression  I  have  scarcely  seen 
equalled  on  any  occasion.  His  look  seemed  to  wither  Santa 
Anna,  and  staring  him  full  in  the  face,  he  replied  immediately, 
with  great  modesty,  '  It  has  been  so,  sir.'  Santa  Anna  evinced 
plainly  that  he  was  much  mortified." 

Almonte  approached  his  captive  General  with  evident  re- 
spect and  grief,  and  the  following  conversation  took  place  be- 
tween the  two  commanders  ;  Houston,  in  the  meantime,  lying 
on  the  ground,  resting  on  his  elbow.  Great  pains  have  been 
taken  to  get  as  nearly  as  possible  the  exact  words  used  by  the 
speakers,  and  those  who  were  present  at  the  interview,  have 
assured  us,  that  all  here  related  they  do  remember,  and  they 
recollect  nothing  else  of  importance. 

Santa  Anna  (after  embracing  Almonte,  and  recovering  per- 


112       CONVERSATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  VICTOR  AND  CAPTIVE. 

fectly  from  his  embarrassment,  rose,  and  advancing  with  the 
air  of  one  born  to  command,  said  to  General  Houston — 
"  That  man  may  consider  himself  born  to  no  common  destiny, 
who  has  conquered  the  Napoleon  of  the  West ;  and  it  now 
remains  for  him  to  be  generous  to  the  vanquished." 

Houston. — You  should  have  remembered  that  at  the  Alamo. 

S.  A. — You  must  be  aware  that  I  was  justified  in  my  course 
by  the  usages  of  war.  I  had  summoned  a  surrender,  and  they 
had  refused.  The  place  was  then  taken  by  storm,  and  the  usa- 
ges of  war  justified  the  slaughter  of  the  vanquished. 

H. — That  toa5  the  case  once,  but  it  is  now  obsolete.  Such 
usages  among  civilized  nations  have  yielded  to  the  influences  of 
humanity. 

S.  A. — However  this  may  be,  I  was  acting  under  the  orders 
of  my  Government. 

//. — Why,  you  are  the  Government  of  Mexico. 

S.  A. — I  have  orders  in  my  possession  commanding  me  so  to 
act. 

H. — A  dictator,  sir,  has  no  superior. 

S.  A. — I  have  orders,  General  Houston,  from  ray  Govern- 
ment, commanding  me  to  exterminate  every  man  found  in  arras 
in  the  province  of  Texas,  and  treat  all  such  as  pirates  ;  for  they 
have  no  Government,  and  are  fisrhtinsc  under  no  recofjnized  flaff. 
This  will  account  for  the  positive  orders  of  ray  Government. 

H. — So  far  as  the  first  point  is  concerned,  the  Texians  flatter 
themselves  they  have  a  Government  already,  and  they  will 
probably  be  able  to  make  a  flag.  But  if  you  feel  excused  for 
your  conduct  at  San  Antonio,  you  have  not  the  same  excuse  for 
the  massacre  of  Colonel  Fannin's  command.  They  had  capitu- 
lated on  terms  proffered  by  your  General.  And  yet  after  the 
capitulation  they  were  all  perfidiously  massacred,  without  the 
privilege  of  even  dying  with  arms  in  their  hands. 

Those  who  were  present  say  that  when  Houston  came  to 
speak  of  the  Goliad  tragedy,  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to 
restrain  his  indignation.  His  eye  flashed  like  a  wild  beast's, 
and  in  his  gigantic  effort  to  curb  ia  his  wrath,  cold  sweat  ran 
off  from  his  brow  in  streams. 


ALMONTE    AND    HOUSTON.  113 

S.  A. — I  declare  to  you,  General  (laying  his  hand  on  his  heart) , 
that  I  was  not  apprised  of  the  fact  that  they  had  capitulated. 
General  Urrea  informed  rae  that  he  had  conquered  them  in  bat- 
tle, and  under  this  impression  I  ordered  their  execution. 

H. — I  knoxo,  General,  that  the  men  had  capitulated. 

(5.  A. — Then  I  was  ignorant  of  it.  And  after  your  assevera- 
tion I  should  not  have  a  shadow  of  doubt,  if  it  were  not  that 
General  Urrea  had  no  authority  lohatever  to  receive  their  capitu- 
lation. And  if  the  day  ever  comes  that  I  can  get  Urrea  into 
my  hands,  I  will  execute  him  for  his  duplicity  in  not  giving  rae 
information  of  the  facts. 

Here  the  conversation  was  suspended  for  a  while,  and  Santa 
Anna  requested  a  small  piece  of  opium.  It  was  ordered  by 
Houston,  who  asked  him  if  he  would  desire  his  marquee  and 
luggage,  and  the  attendance  of  his  aides  and  servants.  Santa 
Anna  thanked  him  very  politely,  and  said  "  it  would  make  him 
very  happy,  since  they  were  proffered  by  his  captor." 

While  the  order  was  being  given,  Almonte  manifested  a  dis- 
position to  continue  the  conversation  with  Houston.  After  re- 
marking to  the  Texian  General  that  fortune  had  indeed  favored 
him,  he  asked  why  he  had  not  attacked  the  Mexicans  the  first 
day  the  armies  met.  "  You  had  reason  to  suppose  we  should  be 
reinforced.  And  yet  if  you  had  risked  a  battle  that  day  you 
would  have  had  another  story  to  tell,  perhaps,  for  our  men  were 
then  ready  to  fight,  and  so  anxious  for  the  battle  to  come  on, 
that  we  could  hardly  keep  them  in  their  ranks.  Why  did  you 
wait  till  the  next  morning.  General  1" 

'*  Well,"  replied  Houston,  "  I  see  I  was  right.  I  knew  you 
expected  I  should  bring  on  the  battle  that  day,  and  were  con- 
sequently prepared  for  it.  Now  if  I  must  be  questioned  by  an 
inferior  officer  in  the  presence  of  his  General,  I  will  say  that 
was  just  the  reason  why  I  did  not  fight ;  and  besides,  I  thought 
there  was  no  use  in  having  two  bites  at  one  cherry."  After 
some  remark  of  Almonte,  which  irritated  Houston,  and  which, 
in  the  opininon  of  all  who  heard  it,  ill-befitted  the  occasion,  he 
said — "  You  have  come  a  great  way  to  give  us  a  great  deal  of 
trouble — and  you  have  made  the  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  a  great 
8 


114  THE    SAN    JACINTO    CORN. 

many  brave  men  necessary."  "  Oh,"  flippantly  replied  Al- 
monte, "  what  are  six  or  eight  hundred  men  !  And,  from  all 
accounts,  only  half  a  dozen  of  your  brave  men  have  fallen." 

Houston  replied  :  "  We  estimate  the  lives  of  our  men,  I  per- 
ceive, somewhat  higher  than  you  do,"  and  gave  him  a  look 
which  seemed  to  say,  "  taunt  me  again,  and  you  don't  live  an 
hour."  Almonte  very  politely  changed  his  tone.  "  You  talk 
about  reinforcements,  sir,"  said  Houston,  raising  himself  up, 
*'  it  matters  not  how  many  reinforcements  you  have,  sir,  you 
never  can  conquer  freemen."  And  taking  from  his  pocket  an 
ear  of  dry  corn  which  he  had  caried  for  four  days,  only  a  part  of 
it  being  consumed,  he  held  it  up  and  said,  "  Sir,  do  you  ever  ex- 
pect to  conquer  men  who  fight  for  freedom,  whose  General  can 
march  four  days  with  one  ear  of  corn  for  his  rations  ?" 

The  exhibition  of  the  ear  of  corn  stirred  up  all  the  enthusi- 
asm of  the  Texian  soldiers,  and  they  gathered  round  their  Gene- 
ral, and  asked  him  to  allow  them  to  divide  the  corn.  "  We'll 
plant  it,"  said  they,  "  and  call  it  the  Houston  corn."  "  Oh, 
yes,  my  brave  fellows,"  said  the  General,  smiling,  "  take  it 
along  if  you  care  anything  about  it,  and  divide  it  among  you — 
give  each  one  a  kernel  as  far  as  it  will  go,  and  take  it  home  to 
your  own  fields,  where  I  hope  you  may  long  cultivate  the  noble 
arts  of  peace  as  well  as  you  have  shown  yourselves  masters  of 
the  art  of  war.  You  have  achieved  your  independence — now 
see  if  you  cannot  make  as  good  farmers  as  you  have  proved 
yourselves  gallant  soldiers.  You  may  not  call  it  Houston  corn ; 
but  call  it  San  Jacinto  corn — for  then  it  will  remind  you  of  your 
own  bravery."  It  is  also  said  that  in  one  of  his  despatches  that 
day  to  the  people  of  the  Sabine,  the  General  said  to  those  who 
had  fled  from  their  homes,  "  return  and  plant  corn."  The  sol- 
diers distributed  their  corn,  and  it  now  waves  over'  a  thousand 
green  fields  of  the  New  Republic 

Santa  Anna  had  become  interested  in  the  conversation,  and 
Almonte  related  to  him  what  had  been  said.  The  Mexican 
General  seemed  to  be  transported  with  rage,  and  he  cursed 
Almonte  for  losing  the  battle.  He  was  mortified  beyond  mea- 
sure to  think  that  his  large  army,  perfectly  armed  and  muni- 
tioned, with  officers  whose  camp  was  filled  with  every  luxury. 


ATTEMPT    TO    ASSASSINATE    SANTA    ANNA.  115 

should  have  been  conquered  by  an  undisciplined  band  of  raw- 
troops,  incompletely  armed,  and  whose  officers  were  destitute 
of  most  even  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  It  is  worthy  of  remark, 
also,  that  Santa  Anna  afterwards  said  "  that  this  was  the  first 
moment  he  had  ever  understood  the  American  character ;  and 
that  what  he  had  witnessed^  convinced  him  that  Americans  never 
could  be  conquered.^^ 

Santa  Anna's  marquee  was  set  near  the  spot  where  Houston 
was  lying.  His  trunks  were  not  examined,  nor  any  portion  of 
his  baggage  molested.  The  Texian  General  knew  that  there 
was  hardly  a  man  in  his  army  who  did  not  wish  to  see  Santa 
Anna  expiate  his  crimes  with  his  blood,  and  very  few  believed 
it  would  be  possible  even  for  Houston  to  protect  him  from  assas- 
sination. But  he  knew  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world  would 
be  turned  upon  the  Texian  camp,  and  that  however  guilty 
Santa  Anna  may  have  been,  the  name  of  Texas  would  be  given 
over  to  execration  if  any  violence  was  offered  to  the  captive. 
He  therefore  took  the  necessary  precautions  to  see  that  not  only 
no  violence  but  no  indignity  should  be  offered  to  his  prisoner. 
The  course  he  took  in  this  matter  entitles  him  to  the  regard  of 
mankind.  The  feeling  that  prevailed  in  the  army  could  not  be 
mistaken,  and  various  circumstances  have  come  to  our  know- 
ledge which  serve  to  illustrate  not  only  Houston's  extreme  vigi- 
lance, but  his  superior  shrewdness  in  detecting  insubordination, 
and  his  address  in  putting  it  down.  One  example  we  will 
allude  to. 

An  officer  had  resolved  to  shoot  Santa  Anna,  and  had  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  work.  His  design,  however,  he  had 
kept  to  himself,  and  Houston  could  have  had  no  intimation  of 
it  from  any  quarter.  But  as  the  officer  was  passing  Houston 
on  the  day  of  the  night  he  had  fixed  on  for  the  execution  of 
his  purpose,  the  General,  who  saw  something  wrong  in  his 
manner,  beckoned  him  to  approach.  He  conversed  with  him, 
privately  and  confidentially,  on  the  subject  of  his  fears,  and 
after  depicting  the  horrible  consequences  that  would  follow 
Santa  Anna's  assassination,  told  the  officer  that  he  had  made 
him  his  confidant  in  the  matter,  because  he  knew  he  would  be 


116  THE    BALD    EAGLES    OVER    THE    FIELD    OF    BATTLE. 

more  likely  than  any  other  man  in  the  camp  to  detect  any 
murderous  scheme  projected,  and  he  relied  on  his  vigilance. 
The  officer  gave  him  his  pledge  he  would  act  on  his  sugges- 
tion, and,  moreover,  declared  that  Santa  Anna  should  never 
be  assassinated  while  lie  stayed  in  the  camp.  He  was  as  good 
as  his  word :  and  yet  he  afterwards  declared  he  had,  at  the 
very  time,  the  arms  on  his  person  with  which  he  had  sworn 
to  kill  Santa  Anna.  Such  was  one  of  the  thousand  expe- 
dients Houston  was  obliged  to  resort  to,  to  maintain  discipline 
over  those  wayward,  reckless  men.  No  one  knew  how  he 
did  it,  and  yet  it  passed  into  a  proverb  that  Houston  was  the 
only  man  in  the  ivorld  that  could  have  kept  the  army  in  subjec- 
tion, or  achieved  the  independence  of  Texas,  or  preserved  it  after 
it  was  ivon.  Houston,  therefore,  exercised  the  keenest  vigi- 
lance over  the  safety  of  his  prisoner,  and  treated  him  as  a 
guest  and  a  gentleman,  rather  than  as  a  captive. 

Night  came — the  guard  was  so  disposed  as  to  include  Santa 
Anna's  marquee,  and  he  slept  on  his  camp-bed  with  every  com- 
fort he  could  have  had  if  he  had  been  the  victor ;  while,  near 
by  him,  Houston  lay  upon  the  earth — his  wonted  bed  in  camp 
— with  no  respite  from  the  intense  agony  of  his  wound.  The 
ball  had  entered  about  one  inch  above  the  ankle  joint,  shatter- 
ing the  bone,  and  severing  the  muscles  and  arteries.  It  pros- 
trated him  for  months,  during  which  time  he  was  worn  down 
by  fever  and  pain  to  the  shadow  of  a  man. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  which  followed  the  victory,  two 
bald  eagles  were  seen  hovering  over  the  field  of  battle,  with 
their  heads  turned  to  the  Westward.  Houston  heard  of  the 
circumstance,  and  at  the  same  time  several  practised  riflemen 
started  to  shoot  them.  He  ordered  them  to  be  called  back, 
saying,  "  Don't  shoot  them,  comrades — their  heads  are  turned 
towards  the  West — it  is  a  good  omen.  The  bird  of  Wash- 
ington points  out  to  you  the  course  of  your  empire.  I  own  I 
am  a  little  superstitious."  The  riflemen  came  back — and  till 
late  that  night,  the  two  birds  beat  their  wings  heavily  over  the 
field  of  the  slain,  with  their  heads  pointing  towards  the  going 
down  of  the  sun. 


SANTA   anna's    PROPOSALS. FOR   HIS    RELEASE.  117 

The  next  morning  Santa  Anna  asked  leave  to  see  General 
Houston,  which  was  granted.  He  presented  himself  elegantly- 
dressed  in  citizen's  garb,  and  tendered  a  most  respectful  and 
cordial  greeting  to  his  "host,"  and  inquired  kindly  for  his 
health  and  the  condition  of  his  wound.  The  difference  in  the 
dresses  of  the  two  men  was  striking.  Houston  had  on  a 
plain,  old,  black  coat,  snuff-colored  pantaloons,  a  black  velvet 
vest,  a  fur  cap,  a  worn  out  pair  of  boots,  and  a  scimetar  of 
tried  metal,  with  a  plated  scabbard — a  gift  from  his  friend 
Captain  Joseph  Bonnell,  of  Fort  Jessup.  He  had  worn  it 
hung  by  buckskin  thongs.  This  constituted  his  wardrobe  and 
his  armory.  Santa  Anna  would  have  been  taken  for  the  vic- 
tor, and  Houston  for  the  captive. 

The  Texian  commander  received,  with  courtesy,  his  pri- 
soner, who  immediately  proposed  negotiations  for  his  liberty. 
Houston,  who,  from  the  beg-inning'  to  the  end  of  Santa  Anna's 
capture,  never  loas  alone  ivith  him  a  single  moment,  imme- 
diately sent  for  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  came,  and  they 
conversed  some  time  with  the  prisoner.  Santa  Anna  sub- 
mitted a  proposition  written  in  pencil,  and  General  Rusk  had 
the  paper  translated.  In  the  meantime  General  Houston  in- 
formed the  Mexican  "  President"  that  he  could  take  no  action 
on  his  proposals,  as  Texas  was  ruled  by  a  Constitutional  Go- 
vernment, whose  members  had  been  sent  for  immediately  after 
the  battle.  Santa  Anna  naturally  asked  where  the  Govern- 
ment was — a  question  which  he  found  could  not  be  so  easily 
answered. 

This  "  Government"  had,  as  we  have  already  stated,  fled  from 
the  scene  of  danger,  and  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  Hea- 
ven. Fortunately,  it  was  known  where  the  head  of  the  Go- 
vernment was,  or  rather  where  he  had  been,  for  he  had  escaped 
to  Galveston,  and  prepared  to  take  passage  on  a  little  vessel 
called  the  Flash,  before  even  the  first  flash  of  the  enemy's 
guns.  Houston  thinking  he  might  wait  there  till  the  news  of 
the  battle  came,  since  &ven  so  prtident  a  man  would  perceive 
he  could  have  plenty  of  time  to  get  his  craft  under  way  before 


118  SANTA    anna's    ORDERS    TO    FELISOLA. 

the  victors  could  reach  him,  had  despatched  his  first  express  to 
that  quarter. 

Santa  Anna,  who  had  a  great  aversion  against  any  nego- 
tiations with  civilians,  manifested  a  perfect  willingness  to  act 
with  military  men.  But  Houston  and  Rusk  were  immovea- 
ble in  their  determination.  A  detachment  of  250  Texians  was 
then  ordered  to  march  with  a  despatch  from  Santa  Anna,  in 
which  General  Filisola  was  instructed  to  depart  immediately, 
with  all  the  Mexican  troops,  as  far  at  least  as  Monterey,  and 
this  order  had  been  tendered  to  General  Houston  without  an 
intimation  that  even  Santa  Anna's  life  should  be  spared. 
Filisola  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  Brazos  when  he  received 
news  of  the  disaster  of  San  Jacinto  from  an  officer  who  had 
escaped  from  the  battle-field  on  a  fleet  Andalusian  courser,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  his  camp. 

It  was  night  when  he  reached  Filisola's  head-quarters,  and 
the  camp  broke  up  in  confusion,  and  prepared  for  flight.  They 
fired  a  large  cotton  gin,  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  flames  to 
light  up  their  passage  over  the  river.  The  Texian  detachment 
pressed  on  by  forced  marches  in  pursuit  of  the  rear-guard  of 
the  Mexican  army.  They  found  horses,  and  mules,  and  bag- 
gage-wagons, and  sick  soldiers,  scattered  along  the  path  of 
the  flying  Division,  which  indicated  the  utter  consternation 
with  which  the  retreat  had  been  made.  They  had  been 
obliged  to  march  through  a  low,  flat,  wet  prairie,  in  reaching 
the  Colorado.  But  they  were  overtaken  by  the  pursuers,  and 
Filisola  received  the  messengers  who  bore  the  flag  with  every 
mark  of  respect,  and  pledged  himself  to  execute  General 
Santa  Anna's  orders  without  any  delay.  He  asked  leave  only 
to  take  some  cattle  along  his  march — he  stretched  his  license 
far  enough  to  rob  every  living  thing  he  fell  in  with  on  his 
way.  Filisola's  Division  got  under  way,  and  the  Texian  De- 
tachment began  their  march  back  to  San  Jacinto. 

Houston  had  given  orders  that  a  portion  of  the  spoils  should 
be  divided  equally  among  officers  and  men,  and  appointed 
three  superior  officers  to  execute  his  order. 

A  great  number  of  incidents  occurred  during  this  period, 


THE   "fUGITITIVE    GOVERNMENT"    AT    LAST    FOUND.      119 

which  would  serve  to  illustrate  the  character.  But  we  are 
obliged  to  omit  their  relation.  A  soldier,  for  example,  had 
fled  from  the  battle,  declaring  that  all  his  comrades  were 
killed  at  the  first  fire.  When  General  Houston  heard  of  the 
circumstance,  he  declared  he  would  have  him  shot.  His 
Captain  importuned  the  Commander  to  let  him  go.  "  Why, 
yes,  Captain,"  said  the  General,  "  I  will  let  him  off,  but  on 
condition  that  he  will  promise  to  marry  into  a  valiant  race 
and  cross  the  breed.     On  these  conditions,  I  will  let  hira  go." 

The  news  of  the  victory  spread  by  expresses  all  over  the 
country,  and  not  many  days  elapsed  before  the  little  Steam- 
boat Yellow  Stone  arrived  from  Galveston,  bringing  the  (fugi- 
tive) "  Government;"  and  they  boldly  marched  right  into  the 
very  presence  of  Santa  Anna  himself!  But  when  they  came 
from  their  hiding-places,  they  looked,  of  course,  more  like 
victors  than  fugitives.  Houston,  at  once,  surrendered  every- 
thing into  their  hands  but  the  money ;  this  had  been  already 
divided  among  his  gallant  comrades. 

Those  who  understand  much  of  humanity  will  not  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  that,  from  that  day  forward,  these  "  fugitive 
statesmen"  became  the  irrevocable  foes  of  the  brave  man  who 
had  redeemed  the  nation  v/hich  they  had  deserted  in  the  hour 
of  her  darkest  trial.  They  had  fled,  and  Houston  had  fought ; 
they  knew  the  odium  that  would  rest  upon  their  names,  and 
as  Houston  had  been  covered  with  the  fame  of  a  hero,  they 
never  could  forgive  him.  An  old  philosopher  once  said,  we 
never  do  forgive  anybody  whom  we  have  injured.  They  did 
not  express  any  aversion  to,  or  condemnation  of,  Houston's 
acts — this  would  not  have  been  particularly  safe — but  their 
future  conduct  showed  most  clearly,  that,  from  that  day,  they 
were  bent  upon  his  destruction. 

They  began  by  treating  him  with  manifest  coolness.  A 
proposition  was  even  made  to  dismiss  him  from  service,  alleg- 
ing no  cause,  but  many  reasons.  Mr.  Rusk,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  who,  when  the  Cabinet  fled  to  the  sea-shore,  had  fled  to 
the  camp,  and  toiled  with  its  heroic  soldiery,  partaking  of 
their  privations  and  mingling  in  its    perils — Mr.   Rusk,  the 


120         Houston's  views  of  santa  anna's  release. 

patriot-soldier,  met  the  proposition  in  a  spirited  and  indignant 
manner,  and  defeated  their  malicious  machinations.  The 
$12,000  had  been  distributed  among  ^the  soldiers,  and  this 
was  a  crime  heavy  enough  to  damn  Houston  ;  for  the  "  Go- 
vernment" thought  they  needed  it  for  their  own  purposes-— 
and  it  is  quite  likely  they  did.  But  the  "  Government "  did 
not  dare  to  bring  it  forward  as  an  accusation  against  the 
General,  for  they  knew  it  would  have  roused  the  indignation 
of  every  man  in  the  army. 

The  Secretary  of  War  wrote  a  letter  to  Houston,  asking 
his  views  about  the  release  of  Santa  Anna.  He  returned  the 
following  answer : 

Head  Quarters  of  the  Army. 
Camp  San  Jacinto,  3d  May,  1S36. 

I  have  not  the  pleasure  to  know  on  what  basis  the  Executive 
Government  contemplate  the  arrangement  with  General  Santa  Anna, 
but  I  would  respectfully  suggest,  that  so  far  as  I  have  been  enabled 
to  give  my  attention  to  the  subject,  the  following  points  should  have 
some  weight : 

The  recognition  of  the  Independence  of  Texas  should  be  a  dne 
qua  non.  The  limits  of  Texas  should  extend  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
from  the  mouth,  pursuing  the  stream  to  its  most  northwestern  source, 
and  from  thence  northeast  to  the  line  of  the  United  States.  Indem- 
nity for  all  losses  sustained  by  Texas  during  the  war.  Commis- 
sioners to  be  appointed  for  ascertaining  the  fact — One  Mexican,  one 
Texian,  and  one  American.  The  guarantee  to  be  obtained  from  the 
United  States,  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  stipulation  on  the  part  of  the 
contending  parties.  General  Santa  Anna  to  be  retained  as  a  hostage, 
with  such  other  officers  as  the  Government  may  think  proper,  until 
they  are  recognized  or  ratified  by  the  JNIexican  Government.  Imme- 
diate restoration  of  Texian  or  Mexican  citizens,  or  those  friendly  to 
the  cause  of  Texas,  who  may  have  been  retained,  with  their  pro- 
perty. Instantaneous  withdrawal  of  all  the  Mexican  troops  from  the 
limits  of  Texas.  All  property  in  Texas  to  be  restored,  and  not 
molested  by  the  troops  or  marauders  in  falling  back.  Cessation  of 
all  hostilities  by  sea  and  land.  A  guarantee  for  the  safety  and  resto- 
ration of  Mexican  prisoners,  so  soon  as  the  conditions  shall  be  com- 
plied with.  Agents  to  be  sent  to  the  United  States  to  obtain  the 
mediation  of  that  government  in  the  afiairs  of  Mexico  and  Texas. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  heap  upon  Houston  the  odium 
both  of  Santa  Anna's  release  and  imprisonment  after  the 
treaty.     But  the  attempt  succeeded  only  for  a  time,  as  false- 


"  MOUNTAIN    LIES."  121 

hood  aliocujs  vnll,  and  then  these  charges,  with  a  thousand 
otliers,  returned  to  plague  the  inventors.  But  in  Texas  they 
never  were  believed  at  all — there  the  facts  were  all  known. 
It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  that  the  report  once  so  common 
in  the  United  States,  and  even  till  now  uncontradicted  by 
Houston  (for  he  never  esteemed  any  lie  worth  contradicting), 
viz.  that  Houston  played  the  coward  at  San  Jacinto,  and  never 
would  have  fought  at  all  if  he  had  not  been  forced  into  battle 
by  his  soldiers  ;  that  he  fled  from  the  field,  or — as  many  had 
it — was  never  in  the  field  at  all, — should  have  originated  and 
been  industriously  circulated  by  the  very  men  who  had  been 
the  first  to  fly  from  danger,  and  leave  the  country  in  its  dark- 
est hour  to  take  care  of  itself!  And  yet  such  was  the  case. 
But  from  all  these  "mountain  lies"  the  name  of  Houston 
has  come  out  fair  and  clear. 

Volunteers  had  now  rushed  in  from  all  quarters,  where  the 
news  of  the  victory  had  gone ;  and  some  brave  men,  who  had 
come  on  by  forced  marches  to  join  Houston's  standard  when 
he  needed  their  help,  had  the  misfortune,  also,  to  reach  the  ^ 
camp  too  late.  Great  activity,  discipline  and  vigor  became 
necessary.  Houston  was  rendered  perfectly  helpless  by  his 
wound ;  and  it  was  believed  that,  even  if  he  survived,  he 
would  not  be  again  fit  for  service  for  many  months.  He  sig- 
nified his  desire  that  General  Rusk  should  succeed  him  in  the 
command,  and,  as  no  other  man  would  have  been  acceptable, 
he  was  selected  by  the  Cabinet  as  Brigadier-General.  From 
the  arrival  of  the  "Government,"  which,  to  the  surprise  of  Santa 
Anna,  had  at  last  been  found,  the  Mexican  President  had  not 
been  permitted  to  pay  his  customary  morning  visit  to  his 
courteous  and  humane  captor ;  and  he  had  also  been  kept 
under  the  irritating  and  humiliating  surveillance  of  the 
cabinet.  This  unnecessary  and  indelicate  severity  (or,  as 
Santa  Anna  himself  termed  it,  "  bad  manners  ")  was  a  source 
of  great  pain  and  mortification  to  the  captive  General. 

Mr.  Lamar  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy in  the  cabinet.  After  the  failure  to  disgrace  Houston, 
there  was  a  cruel  effort  made  to  depress  and  harrow  his  feelings. 


122  HOUSTON    LEFT    TO    DIE    ON    THE    BATTLE-FIELD. 

Every  petty  artifice  was  resorted  to,  to  torture  the  feelings  of 
the  enfeebled,  wounded  hero.  A  fine  stallion,  that  had  been 
ridden  in  battle  by  Almonte,  and  captured  by  Karnes  in  the  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  had  been  presented  by  that  gallant  officer  to 
his  General.  Although  the  animal  was  not  of  the  spoils  taken 
on  the  field,  Houston  sent  him  to  parade,  and  to  be  sold  for  the 
benefit  of  the  army.  By  the  united  voice  of  the  camp,  he  was 
led  up  to  his  master,  with  an  earnest  entreaty  that  he  would 
retain  him,  and  " they  hoped,  too,"  they  said,  "the  General 
would  be  able  to  ride  him  very  quickly."  He  was  a  noble  ani- 
mal ;  he  was  as  black  as  a  raven.  After  the  army  had  con- 
firmed the  present  of  Karnes,  the  "  Government "  took  the  horse 
from  the  Commander.  This  was,  certainly,  a  chivalrous  act 
towards  a  man  who  had  saved  the  country,  and  was  yet  unable 
to  move,  even  on  crutches.  We  will  state  one  more  circum- 
stance about  these  men,  and  then  leave  them  to  the  fame  they 
are  so  sure  to  win  with  posterity,  for  having  tortured  the  saviour 
of  his  country. 

When  the  army  were  taking  up  their  line  of  march  to  the  west, 
with  the  settlements  all  broken  up,  and  Houston  was  without 
any  of  the  comforts  the  wounded  man  so  much  needs,  when  his 
surgeon  had  no  medicine  in  the  camp  to  give  him,  or  dress  his 
wound  with,  and  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  visit  New  Or- 
leans as  the  nearest  place  he  could  go  to  for  medical  aid  to  save 
his  life,  and  the  steamboat  was  ready  to  sail  for  Galveston,  with 
the  Cabinet,  and  Santa  Anna  and  suite  ;  these  gentlemen  had, 
by  common  consent,  agreed  to  leave  the  wounded  Commander- 
in-Chief  to  die — in  sight  of  the  field  of  San  Jacinto  !  Houston 
could  hardly  believe  this,  and  yet,  when  he  saw  he  was  going 
to  be  left  in  his  helplessness,  he  applied  to  the  Cabinet  for  a 
passage.  The  application  was  sternly  refused!  The  captain 
of  the  boat,  hearing  of  the  circumstance,  v^owed  his  boat  never 
should  leave  the  shore  without  it  bore  General  Houston,  brought 
his  hands  up  with  him,  and  carried  the  wounded  soldier  aboard. 
He  was  also  accompanied  by  a  few  of  his  staff;  among  others 
his  surgeon-general.  Dr.  Ewing.  When  the  Doctor  came  on 
board,  Mr.  Lamar  told  him  he  could  not  accompany  General 
Houston,  and  if  he  did,  he  would  be  discharged  from  the  ser- 


ARRIVES    AT    GALVESTON  123 

vice.  The  surgeon  told  Houston  of  this.  "  I  am  sorry,  my 
dear  fellow,"  said  he,  ''  for  I  have  nothing  to  promise  you  in 
the  future,  and  you  know  I  am  poor ;  so  you  had  better  not 
incur  the  displeasure  of  the  new  Secretary  of  War."  But  the 
magnanimous  man  determined  to  follow  his  General,  for  he 
would  not  desert  either  a  friend  or  a  brave  man  in  the  hour  of 
need.  He  went;  but  the  Secretary  was  as  good  as  his  word  ; 
he  dismissed  him  at  once  from  the  army.  He  did  not  know  then 
that  Houston's  star  was  so  soon  to  come  forth  from  its  deep 
eclipse.  When  Santa  Anna,  who  had  wept  when  he  was  told 
that  General  Houston  was  not  coming  on  board,  saw  him  brought 
on,  he  ran  to  him,  and  embraced  him  with  unfeigned  joy. 

The  boat  reached  Galveston  Island,  where,  at  the  time,  there 
was  not  a  framed  house,  and  remained  there  for  the  night.  Some 
volunteers,  who  had  arrived  there  from  the  United  States,  hear- 
ing the  President  ad  interim,  when  he  went  on  shore,  cast 
some  reflections  upon  Houston,  their  officers  immediately  waited 
on  the  General,  and  offered  to  take  him  off,  and  do  anything  he 
might  desire  for  his  comfort  or  his  honor.  He  was  aware  of 
the  spirit  the  men  felt,  for  they  showed  it  too  plainly  to  allow 
it  to  be  mistaken,  and  he  declined  going  just  then.  But  he 
issued  an  order  as  he  took  leave  of  the  men,  and  exhorted  them 
to  "render  obedience  to  the  authorities  of  the  country,  and  not 
dishonor  themselves  by  any  disrespect  to  the  Government, 
being  assured  that  by  honoring  the  ranks  they  would  be  quali- 
fied for  the  highest  rights  of  citizenship."  They  discussed  the 
subject  of  treating  the  Cabinet  with  great  harshness;  but  they 
at  last  yielded  to  Houston's  commands  and  entreaties,  and 
smothered  their  indignation.  A  single  word  from  the  wounded 
man  would  have  crushed  those  restless  and  ambitious  men,  who 
had  inflicted  so  much  pain  upon  himself,  and  afterwards  brought 
so  much  misery  and  dishonor  upon  his  country.  But  on  this 
occasion,  as  on  all  others,  he  showed  how  well  regard  for  law 
and  order  had  fitted  him  to  govern,  and  how  easy  it  is  for  a 
truly  great  man  to  be  magnanimous  to  his  enemies. 

We  had  nearly  forgotten  to  mention  the  scene  w^hich  was 
witnessed  when  Houston  parted  with  the  army.     He  was  too 


124  Houston's  parting  from  the  army. 

feeble  to  speak  to  them,  but  he  dictated  the  following  touching 
address,  which  was  read  in  camp  as  Army  Orders. 

Head  Quarters^  San  Jacinto,  May  5th,  1836. 

Comrades, — Circumstances  connected  with  the  battle  of  the  21st 
render  our  separation,  for  the  present,  unavoidable.  I  need  not  ex- 
press to  you  the  many  painful  sensations  which  that  necessity  inflicts 
upon  me.  I  am  solaced,  however,  by  the  hope,  that  we  shall  soon 
be  reunited  in  the  great  cause  of  Liberty.  Brigadier-General  Rusk 
is  appointed  to  command  the  army  for  the  present.  I  confide  in  his 
valor,  his  patriotism,  his  wisdom.  His  conduct  in  the  battle  of  San 
Jacinto  was  sufficient  to  ensure  your  confidence  and  regard. 

The  enemy,  though  retreating,  are  still  within  the  limits  of  Texas  ; 
their  situation  being  known  to  you,  you  cannot  be  taken  by  surprise. 
Discipline  and  subordination  will  render  you  invincible.  Your  valor 
and  heroism  have  proved  you  unrivalled.  Let  not  contempt  for  the 
enemy  throw  you  off  your  guard.  Vigilance  is  the  first  duty  of  a 
soldier,  and  glory  the  proudest  reward  of  his  toils. 

You  have  patiently  endured  privations,  hardships,  and  difficulties 
unappalled ;  you  have  encountered  odds  of  two  to  one  of  the  enemy 
against  you,  and  borne  yourselves,  in  the  onset  and  conflict  of  battle, 
in  a  manner  unknown  in  the  annals  of  modern  warfare.  While  an 
enemy  to  your  independence  remains  in  Texas,  the  work  is  incom- 
plete ;  but  when  liberty  is  firmly  established  by  j'^our  patience  and 
your  valor,  it  will  be  fame  enough  to  say,  "  I  was  a  member  of  the 
army  of  San  Jacinto." 

In  taking  leave  of  my  brave  comrades  in  arms,  I  cannot  suppress 
the  expression  of  that  pride  which  I  so  justly  feel  in  having  had  the 
honor  to  command  them  in  person,  nor  will  I  withhold  the  tribute  of 
my  warmest  admiration  and  gratitude  for  the  promptness  with  which 
my  orders  were  executed,  and  union  maintained  through  the  army. 
At  parting,  my  heart  embraces  you  with  gratitude  and  affection. 

SAM  HOUSTON,  Commander-in-Chief. 

It  is  said  that  when  this  touching  and  eloquent  address  was 
read  to  the  array,  the  tears  of  the  brave  men  fell  upon  the  rifles 
on  which  they  were  leaning.  Such  was  his  parting  with  his 
companions  in  arms. 

A  small  war  vessel,  belonging  to  the  Republic,  was  sailing 
from  Galveston  to  New  Orleans.  Houston  applied  for  a  pas- 
sage with  his  staff.  It  was  refused  !  A  little  American  schooner 
(the  Flora)  was  also  lying  there,  bound  for  the  same  port. 
The  General  sent  for  the  captain,  and  contracted  with  him  for 
himself  and  staff,  to  be  paid  when  he  could,  for  he  had  not  a 
dollar  of  money  to  advance.      During  the   entire   campaign. 


HIS    RECEPTION    AT    NEW    ORLEANS.  125 

neither  he  nor  any  one  of  his  followers  had  received  a  shilling 
from  the  "  Government,''  and  all  the  funds  he  had  of  his  own, 
he  had  generously  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  fugitive  women 
and  children,  whose  husbands  and  fathers  had  been  slaughtered 
at  the  Alamo,  or  massacred  with  Fannin.  Santa  Anna  now 
asked  permission  of  the  Cabinet  to  take  leave  of  General  Hous- 
ton, but  he  was  refused  that  privilege.  Captain  Chas.  Hawkins, 
of  the  Texian  Navy,  stated  these  facts ;  and  he  also  said,  that 
Santa  Anna  wept  on  the  occasion. 

We  pass  over  the  long  and  tedious  voyage  of  the  little 
schooner.  She  arrived  at  the  Balize  in  the  night,  and  the  next 
day  was  towed  up  to  New  Orleans.  General  Houston  had  now 
been  nearly  forty  days  without  medicine  or  poultices ;  the  band- 
ages for  his  wound  he  had  torn  fi'om  the  shirt  he  wore,  till  all 
but  its  bosom  was  gone — for  he  had  given  all  he  had  away  to 
the  soldiers  as  their  necessities  had  before  been  greater  than  his 
own.  He  was  now,  as  he  supposed,  in  a  dying  state.  He  was 
so  feeble,  he  could  not  even  be  raised  up  without  fainting.  In 
passing  the  English  Turn,  about  eighteen  miles  below  New 
Orleans,  it  was  known  by  expresses  in  waiting  that  Houston 
was  on  board,  and  it  was  the  first  confirmation  of  the  news  of 
the  battle.  It  was  Sunday,  and  the  levee  was  black  with  the 
dense  crowd  which,  as  the  intelligence  spread  through  the  city, 
had  rushed  together  to  see  the  wounded  Soldier.  His  friend, 
Colonel  Christy,  with  whom  he  had  served  as  lieutenant  in  his 
youth,  had  prepared  for  him  in  his  house  every  comfort  his 
situation  required,  and  he  was  now  eager  to  grasp  the  hand  of 
his  old  comrade,  and  extend  him  the  most  cordial  welcome. 
Dr.  Kerr,  too,  who  had  operated  on  his  wounds  just  thirty  years 
before,  hastened  to  the  vessel,  where  he  found  him  lying  on  the 
deck.  He  fell  upon  him,  and  embraced  him  like  a  father.  He, 
with  Dr.  Cenas,  gave  him  every  attention,  and  they  saved  his 
life ;  for  they  said  if  he  had  arrived  a  few  hours  later,  he  could 
not  have  been  saved,  since  his  wound  had  begun  to  show  the 
first  symptoms  of  mortification.  The  crowd  on  the  boat  was  so 
great,  it  was  in  danger  of  sinking,  and  the  throng  so  dense  on 
the  pier,  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  could  be  got  ashore.  An 
unsuccessful  attempt  had  been  made  to  lift  him  ashore,  but  it 


126  RETURN    TO    TEXAS. 

seemed  he  would  die  of  torture  before  it  could  be  done.  At 
last,  feeling  that  his  strength  was  going,  he  rose  on  his  crutches, 
and,  by  a  desperate  effort,  got  over  the  gunwale  himself. 
He  was  immediately  laid  upon  a  litter,  where  he  fainted  again. 
In  the  meantime,  bands  of  music  had  come  down  to  the  pier, 
and  were  playing  martial  airs,  while  the  landing  was  being 
effected.  The  cot,  which  had  been  prepared,  was  brought  up, 
and  Houston,  who  seemed  to  be  dying,  was  borne  through  the 
vast  throng  to  the  hospitable  mansion  of  his  friend,  where  this 
skeleton  of  disease  and  suffering  at  last  found  repose. 

He  remained  about  two  weeks  in  New  Orleans,  and  although 
he  was  far  from  being  out  of  danger,  yet  his  anxiety  to  return 
to  Texas  was  so  great,  that  he  took  passage  to  Nachitoches,  on 
the  Red  River.  The  fatigue  and  exposure  of  the  journey  were 
too  much  for  his  feeble  health,  and  he  was  obliged  to  stop 
several  days  to  recover  his  strength.  But  the  first  moment  he 
was  able,  he  travelled  on  to  San  Augustine,  where  he  remained 
till  the  news  came  that  the  Cabinet  had  made  a  treaty  with 
Santa  Anna,  and  were  resolved  on  his  liberation.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  stated  that  the  enemy  was  preparing  for 
another  campaign.  Demonstrations  of  respect  had  been  made, 
and  dinners  offered  to  him  at  New  Orleans,  Nachitoches,  and 
San  Augustine ;  but  he  declined  all  such  compliments.  The 
report  of  the  advance  of  the  enemy  had  brought  together  a 
vast  concourse  of  people  at  San  Augustine.  Houston  was 
taken  to  the  meeting,  and,  resting  on  his  crutches,  delivered 
an  address,  which  produced  such  an  effect,  that  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men  in  two  days,  took  up  their  march  for  the 
frontier. 

Soon  after,  the  General  received  intelligence  that  Colonels 
Millard  and  Wheelock  had  been  despatched  from  the  army  then 
at  the  Coleto,  with  a  demand  on  the  Cabinet  that  they  should 
deliver  up  Santa  Anna  into  their  hands  for  execution,  reproach- 
ing them  for  the  neglect  of  their  duty,  and  an  order  to  arrest 
President  Burnet,  and  bring  him  to  the  Texian  camp.  Houston 
immediately  despatched  the  following  Protest  against  their  pro- 
ceedings, by  express  to  the  army. 


PROTEST    AGAINST    SANTA   ANNa's    EXECUTION.  127 

Ayish  Bayou,  26th  July,  1836. 
To  THE  General  commanding  the  Army  of  1'exas. 

Sir, — I  have  just  heard  through  a  citizen,  of  the  army,  that  it  is  the 
intention  to  remove  General  Santa  Anna  to  the  army,  and  place  him 
upon  his  trial.  I  cannot  credit  this  statement ;  it  is  obviously  contrary 
to  the  true  policy  of  Texas.  The  advantages  which  his  capture  pre- 
sented to  us,  will  be  destroyed.  Disregard,  if  you  will,  our  national 
character,  and  place  what  construction  you  please  upon  the  rules  of 
civilized  warfare,  we  are  compelled  by  every  principle  of  humanity 
and  morality,  to  abstain  from  every  act  of  passion  or  inconsideration 
that  is  to  be  unproductive  of  positive  good.  Execute  Santa  Anna, 
and  what  will  be  the  fate  of  the  Texians  who  are  held  prisoners  by 
the  Mexicans — what  will  be  the  condition  of  the  North  Americans 
who  are  residing  within  the  limits  of  Mexico?  Death  to  them,  arid 
confiscation  of  their  property  is  the  least  that  can  be  expected.  Doubt- 
less torture  will  be  added  to  the  catastrophe,  when  stimulated  by  ig- 
norance, fanaticism,  and  the  last  expiring  struggle  of  the  priesthood 
for  power  and  dominion.  Texas,  to  be  respected,  must  be  considerate, 
politic  and  just  in  her  actions.  Santa  Anna,  living  and  secured  beyond 
all  danger  of  escape,  in  the  eastern  section  of  Texas  (as  I  first  sug- 
gested), may  be  of  incalculable  advantage  to  Texas  in  her  present  cri- 
sis. In  cool  blood  to  offer  up  the  living  to  the  manes  of  the  departed, 
only  finds  an  example  in  the  religion  and  warfare  of  savages.  Re- 
gard for  one's  departed  friends  should  stimulate  us  in  the  hour  of  bat- 
tle, and  would  excuse  us  in  the  moment  of  victory,  for  partial  excess- 
es, at  which  our  calmer  feelings  of  humanity  would  relent. 

The  affairs  of  Texas  connected  with  General  Santa  Anna,  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  have  become  matter  of  consideration  to 
which  the  attention  of  the  United  States  has  been  called,  and  for 
Texas,  at  this  moment,  to  proceed  to  extreme  measures,  as  to  the 
merits  or  demerits  of  General  Santa  Anna,  would  be  treating  that 
Government  with  high  disrespect,  and  I  would  respectfully  add, 
in  my  opinion,  it  would  be  incurring  the  most  unfortunate  respon- 
sibility for  Texas. 

I,  therefore,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army  of  the  Republic, 
do  solemnly  protest  against  the  trial,  sentence,  and  execution  of 
General  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna,  President  of  the  Republic 
of  Mexico,  until  the  relations  in  which  we  are  to  stand  to  the 
United  States  shall  be  ascertained. 

SAM  HOUSTON,  Commander-in-chief  of  t^e  army. 

This  protest  had  just  the  effect  designed  by  the  writer.  The 
trial  of  Santa  Anna  was  delayed,  and  Texas  was  saved  from  the 
disgrace  and  execration  which  so  summary  and  barbarous  a  pro- 
ceeding would  have  brought  upon  her  name.  Soon  after  this, 
Houston  removed  to  Nacogdoches,  where  he  remained  under  the 


128  TREATY    AND    LIBERATION    OF    SANTA   ANNA. 

influence  of  his  wound  till  fall.  But  he  was  far  from  being  idle;, 
for  the  country  was  under  a  quasi  state  of  martial  law,  and  the 
exigency  called  for  his  constant  vigilance  and  advice. 

In  the  mean  time  we  must  glance  rapidly  over  the  events 
which  were  elsewhere  taking  place.  The  Cabinet  perceiving 
that  Houston's  views,  oflScially  communicated  to  General  Rusk, 
were  founded  upon  the  highest  principles  of  policy,  humanity, 
and  justice,  adopted  them  in  the  main  in  the  treaty  they  made 
with  Santa  Anna,  on  the  14th  of  May.  The  President  and  his 
Cabinet  were  still  at  Velasco  on  the  first  of  June,  and  the  Tex- 
ian  schooner  Invincible  was  anchored  off  the  bar,  in  sight  of  the 
town,  with  Santa  Anna  and  his  suite  on  board,  and  the  sailing 
orders  of  the  vessel  had  been  issued  for  her  to  proceed  to  Vera 
Cruz.  Santa  Anna  wrote  the  following  Farewell  to  the 
Texian  Army. 

"  My  friends !  I  have  been  a  witness  of  your  courage  in  the 
field  of  battle,  and  know  you  to  be  generous.  Rely  with  confi- 
dence on  my  sincerity,  and  you  shall  never  have  cause  to  regret 
the  kindness  shown  me.  In  returning  to  my  native  land,  I  beg 
you  to  receive  the  sincere  thanks  of  your  grateful  friend.  Fare- 
-^ell.  Ant.  Lopez  De  Santa  Anna. 

<'  Velasco,  1st  June,  1836." 

I  know  not  what  may  be  the  opinions  of  others,  but  I  am  per- 
suaded that  Santa  Anna  never  would  have  committed  himself 
in  this  manner,  when  there  was  no  necessity  of  doing  it  (for  it 
was  written  after  the  vessel  was  under  sailing  orders) ,  unless  he 
really  intended  to  redeem  his  pledge.  For  although  he  had 
entered  into  a  solemn  treaty,  yet  his  own  conscience  and  the 
whole  world  would  have  palliated  any  violation  of  that  treaty 
(which  was  wrung  from  him  by  his  captors ;  for  what  will  not  a 
prisoner  promise  to  buy  his  liberty?  they  would  have  said), 
much  sooner  than  they  would  have  forgiven  the  violation  of  pri- 
vate pledges,  voluntarily  given  by  a//-ee  man.  No  such  pledges 
were  now  necessary  ;  he  was  perfectly  free  to  give  or  withhold 
them.  Any  bad  faith  subsequently  manifested,  would  have 
been  regarded  as  the  blackest  perfidy,  and  Texas  would  have 
gained  more,  perhaps  (if  she  had  kept  lier  faith  inviolate) ,  by 


LAWLESS    CONDUCT    OF    GREEN.  129 

his  treachery,  than  she  would  have  lost ;  for  her  honor  and  her 
magnanimity,  and  the  perfidy  of  Santa  Anna,  would  have  won  for 
her  the  sympathy  of  the  civilized  world  !  But  an  event  now  took 
place  which  I  must  regard  as  a  public  and  a  lasting  calamity  to 
Texas. 

General  Green  arrived  at  Velasco,  with  several  hundred  volun- 
teers from  the  United  States,  just  as  the  Invincible  was  sailing. 
This  individual,  who  had  not,  as  yet,  participated  in  the  Texian 
struggle,  and  who,  in  fact,  had  yet  no  authority  to  order  a  drum 
beat  in  Texas,  set  himself  at  once  in  opposition  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  declared  that  the  Invincible  should  not  be  allowed  to 
lift  her  anchor.      He   was  determined  Santa  Anna  should  be 
tried  and  executed  !     It  is  unnecessary  to  indulge  in  any  excla- 
mations of  censure  for  this  high-handed  abuse  of  military  power. 
Popular  feeling  was  on  his  side,  and  Mr.  Lamar  had  already 
protested  (in  a  voluminous  paper)  against  Santa  Anna's  release. 
The   President  ad  interim  at  last  yielded  to  this    outrageous 
violation  of  the  public  faith,  and  although  the  treaty  had  been 
signed,  sealed,  and  delivered,  and  Santa  Anna  had  it  with  him 
on  board,  and  the  vessel  was  under  sailing  orders,  yet  he  coun- 
termanded her  orders,  and  sent  a  requisition  on  board  for  the 
Mexican  President.     Santa  Anna  was  aware  what  had  been 
the  popular  feeling  towards  him  from  the  day  of  his  capture  ;  and 
he  undoubtedly  believed  that  his  life  would  be  in  danger  in  the 
hands  of  a  President  who  would  violate  a  solemn  treaty.    Under 
such  circumstances  he  resolutely  refused  to  go  on  shore.     The 
order  was  repeated  the  next  day,  and  it  provoked  a  similar 
reply.     On  the  afternoon  of  the  third  of  June,  General  Green, 
with  several  armed  men,  "  visited  the  Invincible  "  (says  Foote, 
2  vol.,  p.  342) ,  "  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  off  the  dictator, 
dead  or  alive.^^     Santa  Anna  remonstrated  against  the  'lawless 
outrage,  and,  like  a  brave  man,  declared  he  would  die  before  he 
left.     "  All  this  time,"  says  General   Green  (p.  343) ,  "  he  lay 
on  his  back  in   his  berth,  and  his  respiration  seemed  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly difficult."     No  wonder  such  a  display  of  the  boasted 
Anglo-Saxon  faith  should  disturb  the  respiration  even  of  a  Mexi- 
can !     All  other  means  failing,  General  Green  ordered  him  to  be 

9 


130  SANTA    anna's    PROTEST. 

put  in  irons.  "  When  the  irons  were  brought  within  his  view, 
the  prisoner  immediately  jumped  up,  adjusted  his  collar,  put  on 
his  hat,  and  stated  his  readiness  to  accompany  us  "  (p.  343) . 
And  how  else  would  you  have  a  defenceless  prisoner  act,  with 
a  score  of  bayonets  or  bowie-knives  at  his  breast  1  For  my  own 
part,  I  know  of  no  circumstance  in  Santa  Anna's  history  so 
w^orthy  of  admiration  as  his  conduct  on  this  occasion ;  nor  do  I 
know  of  any  act  of  perfidy  or  cowardice  equal  to  that  evinced 
by  his  lawless  aggressors. 

I  am  no  eulogist  of  Santa  Anna.  I  consider  him  an  am- 
bitious, selfish,  military  chieftain,  who  has  trampled  on  the 
Constitution,  and  blotted  out  the  liberties  of  his  country.  But 
to  his  honor  be  it  said,  that  lie  was  not  the  first  to  violate  the 
treaty  of  the  14th  of  May.  Like  a  brave  man,  too,  he  boldly 
protested  against  the  perfidy  of  the  Texian  cabinet. 

He  said  :  "  I  had  embarked  on  the  Texian  schooner-of-war, 
the  Invincible,  on  the  1st  of  June,  after  addressing  a  short 
farewell  to  the  Texians,  wherein  I  thanked  them  for  their 
generous  behavior,  and  offered  ray  eternal  gratitude.  And 
I  protest  (5thly),  for  the  act  of  violence  committed  on  my  per- 
son, and  abuse  to  which  I  have  been  exposed,  in  being  com- 
pelled to  go  on  shore,  merely  because  130  volunteers,  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Thos.  Green,  recently  landed  on  the  beach 
at  Velasco,  from  New  Orleans,  had  with  tumults  and  threats 
demanded  that  my  person  should  be  placed  at  their  disposal, 
which  took  place  on  the  very  day  the  government  received  from 
Gen.  Filisola  the  answer  that  he  had  strictly  fulfilled  what  had 
been  stipulated  in  the  treaty.  *  *  Under  these  circum- 
stances, I  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  civilized  nations,  to  the 
consciences  of  the  citizens  who  compose  the  Cabinet,  and, 
above  all,  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  destinies  of  nations, 
who  has  placed  the  existence  and  happiness  of  nations  On  the 
faith  of  treaties  and  punctual  fulfilment  of  engagements." 

If  I  am  pointed  to  Goliad  and  the  Alamo,  my  only  reply 
is,  that  such  an  appeal  to  the  civilized  world  and  to  the  Su- 
preme Ruler  of  nations  from  the  perpetrator  of  those  massa- 
cres, only  makes  his  sarcasm  on  Texian  faith  the  more  bitter. 


LAMAR    REJECTED    BY    THE    ARMY,  131 

And  yet  all  the  blame  of  this  infamous  proceeding  be- 
longs to  a  military  adventurer,  the  gratification  o*f  whose  love 
of  notoriety  was  dearer  than  the  faith  of  a  government  plight- 
ed to  a  prisoner.  If  it  be  said  that  the  President  ad  interim 
was  obliged  to  yield  to  the  clamor  of  the  populace,  who 
were  thirsting  for  Santa  Anna's  blood,  I  reply  that  he  could 
not  have  been  compelled,  by  any  mortal  power,  to  write  with 
his  own  hand  the  requisition  for  Santa  Anna — had  he  been  a 
man  of  nerve  enough  to  fit  him  to  hold  the  reins  of  power  in 
revolutionary  times.  When  Houston  was  asked  what  he 
would  have  done  in  the  same  circumstances,  he  said,  "  I  would 
have  regarded  the  faith  of  the  nation  under  any  circumstances, 
and  before  the  mob  should  have  laid  hands  on  Santa  Anna, 
they  should  have  first  drunk  my  blood."  It  now  became  per- 
fectly certain  that  all  the  hopes  of  advantage  Houston  had 
borrowed  from  the  treaty  and  the  release  of  Santa  Anna,  were 
to  be  disappointed.  He  knew  that  the  only  reliance  they  had 
or  could  have  was  upon  his  gratitude  and  sense  of  honor,  and 
now  the  course  his  enemies  had  taken  had  dissolved  all  his 
obligations. 

After  Mr.  Lamar  resigned  his  post  as  Secretary  of  War,  the 
Cabinet  appointed  him  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Array, 
over  the  heads  of  Generals  Houston  and  Rusk.  He  imme- 
diately repaired  to  the  army  with  his  commission,  and  sur- 
rounded by  his  staff.  The  army  was  drawn  up  ;  after  ad- 
dressing them,  he  requested  an  expression  of  their  sentiments. 
They  were  anxious  for  Houston  again  to  assume  the  com- 
mand, and  in  the  meantime  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  Gen. 
Rusk.  But  Mr.  Lamar  wished  some  more  decided  demon- 
stration, and  they  were  ordered,  by  marching  in  different  di- 
rections, to  indicate  their  feelings  towards  the  new  co.m- 
mander.  There  were  about  1800  troops  in  the  camp — less 
than  one  in  eighteen  voted  for  him,  and  the  rest  positively  re- 
fused to  serve  under  him  !  He  thus  acquired  the  title  of  Gene- 
ral, and  got  rid  of  the  responsibilities  of  command. 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE   PRESIDENT. 


The  Government  ad  interim  at  last  became  disgusted  with 
power.  The  people  felt  that  when  Houston  was  away  they  had 
no  one  to  repose  on,  and  discontent  became  universal.  Pro- 
vision had  been  made  by  the  Convention  for  the  crisis,  and 
writs  were  issued  for  the  election  of  a  President  by  the  people 
of  Texas. 

There  were  two  candidates — Gen.  Stephen  F.  Austin,  ajid 
Ex-Governor  Henry  Smith.  They  were  both  excellent  men, 
particularly  Gen.  Austin,  whom  we  have  had  occasion  so  oft^n 
to  mention  with  respect.  Houston  had  been  importuned  from 
the  beginning  to  become  a  candidate,  but  he  had  refused,  nor 
did  he  consent  till  twelve  days  before  the  election.  He  wished 
to  retire  from  public  life,  for  he  believed  there  would  be  no 
necessity  of  firing  another  hostile  gun  in  Texas  if  the  public 
councils  were  guided  by  firmness  and  wisdom.  He  had  been 
unrelentingly  persecuted,  and  his  feelings  outraged,  just  in 
proportion  as  he  had  devoted  himself  to  the  State.  In  retire- 
ment, he  could  be  happy,  and  his  country  free.  He  was, 
therefore,  disinclined  to  mingle  in  the  turmoil  of  public  life. 
But  one  motive  at  last  overcame  his  objections.  He  believed 
(such  was  the  virulence  of  party)  that  if  either  of  the  candi- 
dates should  succeed,  their  cabinets  would  be  made  up  exclu- 
sively of  party  men,  which  would  endanger  the  stability  of  the 
administration.  A  government  was  to  be  created  from  chaos, 
without  a  dollar  and  without  credit.  The  parties  were  pretty 
equally  balanced,  and  there  was  great  reason  to  fear  that  those 
out  of  power  would  so  far  embarrass  the  administration  as  to 
destroy  its  efficiency.  He  believed,  that  since  he  belonged  to 
neither  party,  and  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  great  mass 
of  the  people,  he  might  still  render  signal  service  to  the  state, 
and  he  allowed  his  name  to  be  used. 


Houston's  inauguration.  133 

At  the  announcement,  the  turbulence  of  party  everywhere 
gave  way  to  a  national  enthusiasm.  None  but  his  enemies 
thought  of  opposing  his  election,  and  they  were  only  a  feeble 
clique  of  adventurers,  who  had  rushed  to  Texas  when  her 
agitations  began,  hoping  to  win,  in  the  turbulent  scenes  of 
Revolution,  a  notoriety  they  had  in  vain  sought  for  in  the 
calmer  scenes  of  civic  life.  The  Provisional  Government  of 
'35,  and  the  Administration  of  '36,  had  proved  they  were  inca- 
pable of  holding  the  reins  of  Government  over  a  frontier 
population.  The  people  at  last  saw  that  they  must  place 
some  man  at  the  helm  whose  strong  hand  would  steady  the 
vessel  through  the  boisterous  surges.  They  knew  there  was 
but  one  man  in  Texas  who  could  sway  the  multitude,  and 
when  the  hero  of  San  Jacinto  consented  to  accept  the  Presi- 
dency, they  offered  it  to  him  by  acclamation. 

Houston  had  indeed  displayed  those  rare  qualities  which 
make  the  great  General.  It  now  remained  to  be  seen  if  he 
was  endowed  with  those  loftier  and  nobler  qualities,  which 
would  fit  him  for  the  cabinet — for  a  far  more  difficult  task  now 
remained,  in  the  organization  of  a  government  which  should 
secure  peace,  and  power,  and  prosperity  at  home,  and  com- 
mand the  respect  of  civilized  nations — than  it  had  been  to  win 
even  the  brilliant  victory  of  San  Jacinto.  Senators  and  re- 
presentatives were  elected  at  the  same  time,  and  on  the  3d  of 
October  (1836),  the  delegates  assembled  at  Columbia,  and  the 
first  Congress  of  the  Republic  of  Texas  was  organized. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  the  same  month,  the  Presi- 
dent ad  interim  tendered  his  resignation,  and  a  resolution  was 
immediately  introduced,  "  that  the  inauguration  take  place  at 
four  o'clock  this  day."  A  committee  from  both  Houses  wait- 
ed upon  the  President  elect,  and  at  four  o'clock,  he  was  intro- 
duced within  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  The 
Speaker  administered  to  him  the  oath  of  office,  and  then  pro- 
claimed Sam  Houston  President  of  the  Republic  of  Texas. 
Advancing  to  the  table,  he  delivered  an  extemporaneous  inau- 
gural address.  We  consider  it  important  the  reader  should  be 
furnished  with  it  entire,  for  it  unfolds  the  policy  of  Houston's 


134  Houston's  inaugural,  address. 

administration,  and  it  could  never  have  been  spoken  but  by  a 
great  statesman.  It  will  be  consulted  by  future  times  as  the 
most  important  State  paper  that  will  be  found  in  the  early 
archives  of  Texas.  We  give  it  as  it  came  from  the  reporter 
of  the  Congress. 

Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  : 

Deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  responsibility  devolving  on 
me,  I  cannot,  in  justice  to  myself,  repress  the  emotion  of  my  heart,  or 
restrain  the  feelings  which  my  sense  of  obligation  to  my  fellow 
citizens  has  inspired — their  suffrage  was  gratuitously  bestowed.  Pre- 
ferred to  others,  not  unlikely'superi.ir  in  merit  to  myself,  called  to  the 
most  important  station  among  mankind,  by  the  voice  of  a  free  people, 
it  is  utterly  impossible  not  to  feel  impressed  with  the  deepest  sensa- 
tions of  delicacy,  in  my  present  position  before  the  world.  It  is  not 
here  alone,  but  our  present  attitude  before  all  nations,  has  rendered 
my  position,  and  that  of  my  country,  one  of  peculiar  interest. 

A  spot  of  earth  almost  unknown  to  the  geography  of  the  age,  des- 
titute of  all  available  resouices,  few  in  numbers,  we  remonstrated 
against  oppression  ;  and  when  invaded  by  a  numerous  host,  we  dared 
to  proclaim  our  Independence  and  to  strike  for  freedom  on  the  breast 
of  the  oppressor.  As  yet  our  course  is  onward.  We  are  only  in 
the  outset  of  the  campaign  of  liberty.  Futurity  has  locked  up  the 
destiny  which  awaits  our  people.  Who  can  contemplate  with  apathy 
a  situation  so  imposing  in  the  moral  and  physical  world  !  No  one. 
The  relations  among  ourselves  are  peculiarly  delicate  and  important ; 
for  no  matter  what  zeal  or  fidelity  I  may  possess  in  the  discharge  of 
my  official  duties,  if  I  do  not  obtain  co-operation  and  an  honest  sup- 
port from  the  co-ordinate  departments  of  the  government,  wreck  and 
ruin  must  be  the  inevitable  consequences  of  my  administration.  If 
then,  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty,  my  competency  should  fail  in  the 
attainment  of  the  great  objects  in  view,  it  would  become  your  sacred 
duty  to  correct  my  errors  and  sustain  me  by  your  superior  wisdom. 
This  much  1  anticipate — this  much  I  demand.  I  am  perfectly  aware 
of  the  ditficulties  that  surround  me,  and  the  convulsive  throes  through 
which  our  country  must  pass,  i  I  have  never  been  emulous  of  the 
civic  wreath — when  merited  it  crowns  a  happy  destiny.  A  country 
situated  like  ours,  is  environed  with  ditficulties,  its  administration  is 
fraught  with  perplexities.  Had  it  been  my  destiny  1  would  infinitely 
have  preferred  the  toils,  privations,  and  perils  of  a  soldier,  to  the  du- 
ties of  my  present  station.  i  Nothing  but  zeal,  stimulated  by  the  holy 
spirit  of  patriotism,  and  guided  by  philosophy  and  reason,  can  give 
that  impetus  to  our  energies  necessary  to  surmount  the  difficulties  that 
obstruct  our  political  progress.  By  the  aid  of  your  intelligence,  I 
trust  all  impediments  in  our  advancement  will  be  removed ;  that  all 
wounds  in  the  body  politic  will  be  healed,  and  the  Constitution  of  the 
Uepublic  derive  strength  and  vigor  equal  to  any  emergency.     I  shall 


hohston's  inaugural  address.  135 

confidently  anticipate  the  establishment  of  Constitutional  liberty. 
In  the  attainment  of  this  object,  we  must  regard  our  relative  situa- 
tion to  other  countries. 

A  subject  of  no  small  importance  is  the  situation  of  an  extensive 
frontier,  bordered  by  Indians,  and  open  to  their  depredation.  Treaties 
of  peace  and  amity  and  the  maintenance  of  good  faith  with  the  Indi- 
ans, seem  to  me  the  most  rational  means  for  winning  their  friendship. 
Let  us  abstain  from  aggression,  establish  commerce  with  the  different 
tribes,  supply  their  useful  and  necessary  wants,  maintain  even- 
handed  justice  with  them,  and  natural  reason  will  teach  them  the 
utility  of  our  friendship. , 

Admonished  by  the  past,  we  cannot,  in  justice,  disregard  our  na- 
tional enemies.  Vigilance  will  apprise  us  of  their  approach,  a  dis- 
ciplined and  valiant  army  will  insure  their  discomfiture.  Without 
discrimination  and  system,  how  unavailing  would  all  the  resources  of 
an  old  and  overliowing  treasurj'^  prove  to  us.  It  would  be  as  unprofita- 
ble to  us  in  our  present  situation,  as  the  rich  diamond  locked  in  the 
bosom  of  the  adamant.  We  cannot  hope  that  the  bosom  of  our 
beautiful  prairies  will  soon  be  visited  by  the  healing  breezes  of  peace. 
We  may  again  look  for  the  day  when  their  verdure  will  be  converted 
into  dyes  of  crimson.  We  must  keep  all  our  energies  alive,  our 
army  organized,  disciplined,  and  increased  to  our  present  emergen- 
cies. With  these  preparations  we  can  meet  and  vanquish  despotic 
thousands.  This  is  the  attitude  we  at  present  must  regard  as  our 
own.  We  are  battling  for  human  liberty  ;  reason  and  firmness  must 
characterize  our  acts,  i 

The  course  our  enemies  have  pursued  has  been  opposed  to  every 
principle  of  civilized  warfare — bad  faith,  inhumanity  and  devastation, 
marked  their  path  of  invasion.  We  were  a  little  band,  contending 
for  liberty — they  were  thousands,  well  appointed,  munitioned  and 
provisioned,  seeking  to  rivet  chains  upon  us,  or  extirpate  us  from  the 
earth.  Their  cruelties  have  incurred  the  universal  denunciation  of 
Christendom.  They  will  not  pass  from  their  nation  during  the  pre- 
sent generation.  The  contrast  of  our  conduct  is  manifest ;  we  were 
hunted  down  as  the  felon  wolf,  our  little  band  driven  from  fastness  to 
fastness,  exasperated  to  the  last  extreme ;  while  the  blood  of  our 
kindred  and  our  friends  inv^oking  the  vengeance  of  an  offended  God 
was  smoking  to  high  heaven,  we  met  our  enemy  and  vanquished 
them.  They  fell  in  battle,  or  suppliantly  kneeled  and  were  spared. 
We  offered  up  our  vengeance  at  the  shrine  of  humanity,  while 
Christianity  rejoiced  at  the  act  and  looked  with  pride  on  the  sacrifice. 
The  civilized  world  contemplated  with  proud  emotions,  conduct 
which  reflected  so  much  glory  on  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  The  moral 
effect  has  done  more  towards  our  liberation,  than  the  defeat  of  the 
army  of  veterans.  Where  our  cause  has  been  presented  to  our 
friends  in  the  land  of  our  origin,  they  have  embraced  it  with  their 
warmest  sympathies.  They  have  rendered  us  manly  and  efficient 
aids.     They  have  rallied  to  our  standard,  they  have  fought  side  by 


136  HOUSTON    SURRENDERING    HIS    SWORD. 

side  with  our  warriors.  They  have  bled,  and  their  dust  is  mingling 
with  the  ashes  of  our  heroes.  At  this  moment  I  discern  numbers 
around  me,  who  battled  in  the  field  of  San  Jacinto,  and  whose  chiv- 
alry and  valor  have  identified  them  with  the  glory  of  the  country,  its 
name,  its  soil,  and  its  liberty.  There  sits  a  gentleman  within  my 
view,  whose  personal  and  political  services  to  Texas  have  been 
invaluable.  He  was  the  first  in  the  United  States  to  respond  to  our 
cause.  His  purse  was  ever  open  to  our  necessities.  His  hand  was 
extended  in  our  aid.  His  presence  among  us  and  his  return  to  the 
embraces  of  our  friends  will  inspire  new  efforts  in  behalf  of  our  cause. 
[The  attention  of  the  Speaker  and  that  of  Congress,  was  directed  to 
Wm.  Christy,  Esq.,  of  New  Orleans,  who  sat  by  invitation  within 
the  bar.]  A  circumstance  of  the  highest  import  will  claim  the  at- 
tention of  the  court  at  Washington,  y  In  our  recent  election,  the  im- 
portant subject  of  annexation  to  the  United  States  of  America  was 
submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  people.  They  have  expressed 
their  feelings  and  their  wishes  on  that  momentous  subject.  They 
have,  with  a  unanimity  unparalleled,  declared  that  they  will  be  reunited 
to  the  Great  Republican  family  of  the  North.  The  appeal  is  made 
by  a  willing  people,  i  Will  our  friends  disregard  it  ?  They  have  al- 
ready bestowed  upon  us  their  warmest  sympathies.  Their  manly 
and  generous  feelings  have  been  enlisted  on  our  behalf.  We  are 
cheered  by  the  hope  that  they  will  receive  us  to  participate  in  their 
civil,  political,  and  religious  rights,  and  hail  us  welcome  into  the 
great  family  of  freemen.  Our  misfortunes  have  been  their  misfor- 
tunes— our  sorrows,  too,  have  been  theirs,  and  their  joy  at  our  success 
has  been  irrepressible. 

A  thousand  considerations  press  upon  me,  each  claims  my  attention. 
But  the  shortness  of  the  notice  of  this  emergency  (for  the  Speaker 
had  only  four  hours' notice  of  the  inauguration,  and  all  this  time  was 
spent  in  conversation)  will  not  enable  me  to  do  justice  to  those  sub- 
jects, and  will  necessarily  induce  their  postponement  for  the  present. 
[Here  the  President,  says  the  reporter,  paused  for  a  few  seconds  and 
disengaged  his  sword.]  It  now,  sir,  becomes  my  duty  to  make  a 
presentation  of  this  sword — this  emblem  of  my  past  office.  [The 
President  was  unable  to  proceed  further ;  but  having  firmly  clenched 
it  with  both  hands,  as  if  with  a  farewell  grasp,  a  tide  of  varied  asso- 
ciations rushed  upon  him  in  the  moment,  his  countenance  bespoke 
the  workings  of  the  strongest  emotions,  his  soul  seemed  to  dwell 
momentarily  on  the  glistening  blade,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  audi- 
tory gave  outward  proof  of  their  congeniality  of  feeling.  It  was  in 
reality  a  moment  of  deep  and  painful  interest.  After  this  pause, 
more  eloquently  impressive  than  the  deepest  pathos  conveyed  in  lan- 
guage, the  President  proceeded.]  /I  have  worn  it  with  some  humble 
pretensions  in  defence  of  my  country, — and  should  the  danger  of  my 
country  again  call  for  my  services,  I  expect  to  resume  it,  and  respond 
to  that  call,  if  needful,  with  my  blood  and  my  life. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    HIS    ADMINISTRATION.  137 

•  The  first  step  the  President  took  in  his  administration, 
evinced  his  political  forecast  and  the  broad  national  principles 
on  which  he  intended  to  govern  the  country.  He  chose  his 
two  most  important  cabinet  officers  from  his  rivals  for  the 
Presidency  ;  General  Austin,  the  incorruptible  patriot,  became 
Secretary  of  Slate,  and  Ex-Provisional  Governor  Henry  Smith, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  This  selection  was  not  only  mag- 
nanimous, but  it  was  high  policy.  The  rancor  of  party  sub- 
sided— the  oil  calmed  the  turbid  waters.  It  evinced  the  im- 
portant fact,  that  Houston  had  no  party  but  country,  and  no 
aim  but  the  public  good. 

Everything  was  in  chaos.  The  archives  of  the  State  were 
hurled  loosely  together  in  an  old  trunk — everything  had  to  be 
done.  Although  the  Cabinet  was  composed  of  apparently  so 
discordant  materials,  yet  all  their  proceedings  were  character- 
ized by  harmony,  till  Mr.  Austin's  death,  which  took  place  in  a 
few  months.  He  was  deeply  regretted  by  his  people,  for  he  was 
an  upright,  enlightened  and  purely  patriotic  man.  Congress 
was  now  completely  organized,  and  public  business  was  being 
done  in  an  orderly  and  efficient  manner. 

When  Houston  arrived  at  Columbia,  for  the  inauguration, 
he  found  that  his  former  captive,  Santa  Anna,  was  still  retained 
a  prisoner  about  twelve  miles  from  the  seat  of  government,  un- 
der a  guard  of  twenty  men.  Santa  Anna  sent  word  to  Houston, 
that  he  would  be  very  glad  if  he  could  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  him.  He  did  not  send  to  implore  his  release — for  he 
seems  to  have  given  up  nearly  all  hope  of  ever  regaining  his 
liberty.  But  in  Houston  he  had  found  a  magnanimous  foe, 
and  he  wished  to  see  his  conqueror. 

The  reader  can  readily  imagine  how  Houston  was  affected 
by  such  a  message  from  a  prisoner,  to  whose  release  the  gov- 
ernment ad  interim  had  pledged  its  most  solemn  faith,  and 
then  left  him  to  drag  out  months  of  weary  imprisojiment.  He 
still  felt  as  he  had  in  the  beginning,  and  he  determined  to 
wipe  out  the  stain  of  dishonor  from  the  name  of  Texas.  "Af- 
ter a  victory  like  San  Jacinto,"  said  he,  »  we  could  richly  have 
afforded  to  have  been  magnanimous — now  the  only  question 


138  HOUSTON    VISITS    SANTA    ANNA    IN    PRISON. 

is,  can  we  afford  to  be  just?"  He  knew,  besides,  there  were 
no  means  in  the  government  to  support  captives.  It  had  been 
in  a  state  of  quasi  dissolution  for  months.  Santa  Anna  and 
his  friends  had  been  living  on  a  mere  pittance,  destitute  of  the 
comforts  and  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Houston  took 
with  him  several  gentlemen  and  went  to  visit  the  prisoner. 
Those  who  were  present  have  represented  their  meeting  as 
rather  affecting.  Santa  Anna,  after  the  custom  of  his  nation, 
opened  his  arms  and  came  forward  to  meet  his  visitor. 
Houston,  whose  great  heart  was  large  enough  to  hold  even 
his  enemies,  received  him  in  like  manner,  and  as  the  worn 
captive  rested  his  head  on  Houston's  broad  breast  (for  he  hard- 
ly came  up  to  his  shoulder),  they  say  that  the  two  generals 
wept  together — the  Mexican  at  the  recollection  of  his  reverses 
— the  Virginian  sympathizing  with  the  man  he  had  vanquish- 
ed. 

Through  Almonte,  who  still  acted  as  their  interpreter,  and 
in  the  presence  of  Patton  and  others,  Santa  Anna  appealed  to 
his  conqueror  to  interpose  his  power  in  his  behalf,  and  advert- 
ed to  the  letter  he  had  himself  written  to  Gen.  Jackson,  and 
enclosed  to  Houston  at  Nacogdoches.  Jackson  had  answered 
his  letter  in  very  kind  terms,  and  passed  a  high  eulogium  upon 
his  friend  Gen.  Houston,  for  his  magnanimity  towards  his 
captive.  Indeed,  Gen.  Jackson  often  declared  that  Houston 
deserved  and  would  receive  as  much  honor  from  all  great  and 
good  men  for  his  treatment  of  Santa  Anna  after  the  victory, 
as  for  the  victory  itself.  "  Let  those  who  clamor  for  blood," 
said  the  brave  old  hero,  "  clamor  on.  The  world  will  take 
care  of  Houston's  fame." 

Houston  was  not  yet  inaugurated,  but  he  assured  the  Mexi- 
can general  that  he  would  remember  him.  Col.  Christy  (who 
bore  Texas  on  his  heart,  and  was  jealous  of  her  honor)  and 
other  generous  men,  had  sent  some  comforts  to  Santa  Anna  a 
short  time  before,  and  Houston  and  some  of  his  friends  dined 
with  him  that  day,  and  then  they  parted.  Santa  Anna  wrote 
Houston  after  his  return  to  Columbia.  The  communication 
was  laid  before  Congress,  and  his  release  solicited.     The  mat- 


SANTA    anna's    LIBERATION.  139 

ter  was  referred  to  committees  of  both  houses,  and  a  report  was 
made  of  a  most  inflammatory  character.  In  a  secret  session 
the  Senate  passed  a  resolution  requiring  his  detention  as  a 
prisoner.  Houston  responded  in  a  calm,  dignified  veto,  show- 
ing the  impolicy  of  a  longer  detention — the  probability  o£  his 
being  assassinated  (as  one  attempt  had  already  been  made 
before  Houston's  arrival),  and  whether  he  might  die  from 
violence  or  disease,  that  Texas  never  would  escape  the  odium 
of  his  death.  The  Senate  reversed  their  decision,  and  referred 
the  matter  to  the  discretion  of  the  President.  He  expressed 
the  belief  that  if  Santa  Anna  was  restored  to  his  country,  he 
would  keep  Mexico  in  commotion  for  years  and  Texas  would 
be  safe.  Houston  determined  at  once  to  release  him  on  his  own 
responsibility.  He  informed  him  that  if  he  wished  to  visit 
Washington,  as  Gen.  Jackson  had  requested,  he  should  have 
an  escort,  chosen  by  himself.  Santa  Anna  returned  his  thanks 
by  the  messenger,  and  requested  that  Cols.  Hockley  and  Bee, 
and  Major  Patton  be  allowed  to  attend  him.  About  the  25th 
of  November,  the  escort  departed,  and  Houston  went  with  them 
to  take  his  final  leave  of  the  liberated  captive.  The  parting 
took  place — and  the  little  party  set  out  on  fine  horses,  for  the 
Sabine.  They  lost  their  way  in  the  prairie,  and  it  so  happened 
that  they  they  were  compelled,  in  regaining  it,  to  pass  over  tlie 
battle  ground  of  San  Jacinto !  When  Santa  Anna  saw  the 
bones  of  his  soldiers  whitening  on  the  field,  he  was  deeply 
affected,  and  the  gentlemanly  men  who  attended  him, 
seeming  not  to  observe  his  agitation,  rode  leisurely  on  and  Left 
the  deserted  general  to  indulge  his  feelings  on  the  field  of  his 
slain. 

Santa  Anna  is  a  great  man.  He  has  a  Mexican  education 
and  Mexican  principles,  but  an  American  intellect  of  high 
order.  He  is  a  great  General.  He  has  a  fine  face — a  rather 
long,  but  well-shaped  head — black  hair  and  eyes,  and  a  perfect 
form — he  is  about  five  feet  and  seven  or  nine  inches  high — his 
elocution  is  rich,  and  characterized  by  considerabl-e  fire — his 
eye  is  quick,  but  firm,  and  his  manners  and  address  are 
worthy  of  a  prince. 


140  RECOGNITION    OP    TEXIAN    INDEPENDENCE. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  Administration  the  President  ap- 
pointed Colonel  William  H.  Wharton,  Minister  to  Washing- 
ton, with  instructions  to  commence  negotiations  with  General 
Jackson  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States. 
Soon  after  Memucan  Hunt,  Esq.,  was  appointed  to  act  in  con- 
cert with  him.  During  the  summer  of  1836,  General  Jackson 
had  despatched  a  confidential  agent  to  Texas.  He  explored 
its  Territory,  scrutinized  its  Government,  mingled  in  its  so- 
ciety, made  himself  familiar  with  its  resources,  and  reported 
fully  to  the  President.  His  Report  satisfied  the  President  and 
his  Cabinet  that  Texas  was  entitled,  by  the  Law  of  Nations, 
to  a  recognition  of  her  Independence,  and  although  his  own 
sympathies  were  with  that  people  in  their  struggle,  and  from 
the  hour  they  achieved  their  independence  he  never  had  a 
doubt  they  would  one  day  be  annexed  to  the  United  States, 
yet  he  wisely  withheld  the  expression  of  such  an  opinion,  and 
did  not  even  press  upon  Congress  the  Recognition.  In  his 
Message  of  the  5th  of  December,  1836,  after  assigning  the 
most  satisfactory  reasons,  he  says,  "  Our  character  requires 
that  we  should  neither  anticipate  events,  nor  attempt  to  control 
them."  And  alluding  to  the  desire  of  Texas  for  annexation, 
he  says :  "  Necessarily  a  work  of  time,  and  -uncertain  in  itself, 
it  is  calculated  to  expose  our  conduct  to  misconstruction  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world."  On  the  twenty-second  of  the  same  mOnth, 
the  President,  in  another  message,  after  discussing  the  ques- 
tion, expresses  his  opinion  that  it  would  be  impolitic  yet  to  re- 
cognize Texas  as  an  Independent  State,  and  then  proposes  to 
acquiesce  in  the  decision  of  Congress.  The  question  was  not 
brought  up  again  till  the  12th  of  January,  1837,  when  Mr. 
Walker,  Senator  from  Mississippi,  introduced  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  State  of  Texas  having  established  and  main- 
tained  an  independent  Government,  is  capable  of  performing  those 
duties,  foreign  and  domestic,  which  appertain  to  Independent  Govern- 
ments ;  and  it  appearing  that  there  is  no  longer  any  reasonable  pros- 
pect of  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  war  by  Mexico  against  said 
State,  it  is  expedient  and  proper,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Laws  of 
Nations,  and  the  practice  of  this  Government  in  like  cases,  that  the 


COURSE    OF    AMERICAN    SENATE-  141 

independent  political  existence  of  that  State  be  acknowledged  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States." 

The  Senate  was  not  prepared  for  immediate  action  on  the 
question,  and   Mr.  Walker  knew  it.      He  was  aware  that  the 
stransre  and  disgraceful  war  which  the  American  Press  had  so 
ge^ierally  begun  to  wage  against  the  interests  and  advance- 
ment of    Tcxian   Liberty,  had   colored   the    prejudices,  and 
would  control   the  votes   of  Senators,  and  he  determined  to 
bide   his  time.     Mr.  Walker  moved  that  his   Resolution  be 
made  the  order  of  the  day  for  the  18th  of  January ;  but  when 
the  time  came  it  was  crowded  aside.     Several  ineffectual  at- 
tempts were  made  to  decide  the  question,  and  at  last  it  was 
brought  up  on  the  1st  of  March  for  final  action.     An  able  and 
brilliant  debate  followed ;"  Messrs.  Preston,  Crittenden,  Clay, 
and  Calhoun,  all  sustained  the   Mississippi  Senator  with  the 
persuasive  power  of  their  eloquence.      Mr.  Clay  spoke  of 
Texas  with  generous  enthusiasm,  and  unhesitatingly  declared 
that  her  Constitution,  as  a  whole,  was  superior  to  that  o'f  the 
United  States.     How  different  might  have  been  the  political 
fortunes  of  that  truly  great  and  patriotic  man,  and  the  fortunes 
of  his  party,  if  he  had,  to  the  end,  pursued  the  same  high  and 
sagacious  policy   towards    that   beautiful  country!     But  his 
course,  as  well  as   Mr.  Van   Buren's,  only  furnishes   us  with 
another  impressive  illustration  how  few  great  men,  even,  are 
able  to  withstand  the  clamor  of  party  in  turbulent  times.     The 
measure  prevailed  by  a  small  majority.     For  the  success  of 
the  measure  Texas  was  indebted  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Walker, 
and  his  course  in  the  affair  entitled  him  to  the  regards  of  the 
entire  nation.     The  day  will  come,  too,  when  the  mists  that 
have  obscured  the  gaze  of  the  people  and  their  statesmen 
shall   have  cleared  away,   and   the  name  of  the  Mississippi 
Senator  will  everywhere  be  mentioned  with  honor  and  with 
gratitude.     Texas  will  build  his  monument,  and  give  it  a  con- 
spicuous  place  in   the   temple  she  will  erect  for  those   who 
proved  themselves  her  friends  in  the  day  of  trial.     The  grate- 
ful  Republic  commissioned  the  portrait  of  Mr.  Preston,  and 
the  bust  of  Mr.  Walker,  for  her  Capitol. 


142  THE    SPIRIT    OF    HOUSTON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

The  last  time  General  Jackson  ever  put  his  pen  officially  to 
paper,  was  to  sign  the  Resolution  recognizing  Texas  an  Inde- 
pendent State,  Such  was  the  earliest  fruit  of  the  Mission  of 
those  intelligent  and  accomplished  men  whom  General  Hous- 
ton commissioned  to  the  court  of  Washington.  We  have  read 
their  correspondence  with  the  two  Governments,  and  we  have 
seldom  perused  abler  state  papers. 

In  March,  1837,  the  seat  of  Government  was  removed  from 
Columbia  on  the  Brazos,  to  Houston,  which  stands  on  the 
highest  point  of  navigation  on  the  Bayou,  that  empties  into 
Galveston  Bay.  There  was  but  one  house  in  Houston.  It  was 
a  cabin  just  erected,  and  in  it  the  President  of  the  new  nation 
took  up  his  abode.  His  floor  was  the  ground,  where  the  grass 
was  growing.  But  population  rushed  in,  and  in  a  short  time 
comfortable  public  buildings  were  erected. 

Houston's  policy  in  regard  to  the  future  was  to  obtain  annex- 
ation if  possible.  If  this  could  not  be  done,  he  was  determined 
to  conduct  the  Government  on  principles  that  would  secure 
confidence  abroad  and  inspire  hope  at  home.  The  proposition 
for  annexation  had  been  rejected  by  our  Government,  and  such 
was  the  state  of  feeling  at  the  time  in  the  United  States,  Hous- 
ton had  no  expectation  of  the  early  success  of  that  grand  meas- 
ure, in  whose  consummation  the  keen-sighted  statesmen  of 
both  countries  saw  so  many  elements  of  mutual  power  and 
prosperity.  He  was  therefore  determined  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  the  Texian  Republic  deep  and  strong — to  husband  its  re- 
sources— never  to  cripple  the  state  with  a  public  debt — to  har- 
monize warring  factions — to  be  the  ruler  of  the  Nation,  and 
not  of  a  party  or  a  clique. 

The  cultivation  of  friendly  relations  with  the  powerful  and 
warlike  savage  tribes  on  the  frontier,  he  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  important  objects  of  his  administration.  This  ferocious 
population  not  only  outnumbered  all  the  inhabitants  of  Texas, 
but  they  could  not  be  conquered.  The  Camanches,  the  most 
numerous  and  savage  Iribe,  live  in  the  saddle.  They  can 
move  with  their  women  and  children  with  great  celerity  when- 
ever and  wherever  their  necessities  or  their  passions  carry  them  j 


STATE    OP    TEXAS.  143 

they  can  make  their  incursions  without  the  possibility  of  pursuit 
from  their  enemies.  Tiiey  are  hordes  of  barbarians,  as  ferocious 
as  Cossacks  and  as  fleet  as  the  Bedouins  of  the  desert.  And  yet, 
such  was  Houston's  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,  and 
so  rigidly  did  he  regard  the  letter  and  spirit  of  his  treaties  with 
those  fearful  tribes,  he  saved  the  Republic  from  their  incur- 
sions and  made  them  venerate  and  love  his  name. 

In  a  former  part  of  this  work,  we  have  given  the  views  of 
Houston  on  the  subject  of  our  treatment  of  the  Indians.  Those 
views  have  been  regarded  by  many  as  utterly  chimerical ;  and 
yet  if  we  had  space  we  could  show  that  during  his  two  adminis- 
trations in  Texas,  he  carried  them  out  successfully  ;  and  he  has 
often  declared  that,  in  no  instance  where  he  had  an  opportunity 
of  giving  the  Indians  evidence  that  he  intended  to  treat  them 
with  good  faith  and  with  common  justice,  did  he  experience  the 
slightest  difficulty  in  winning  their  friendship  and  preservin-g 
their  perpetual  alliance.  In  all  these  negotiations  the  great  se- 
cret of  his  power  over  those  wily  red  men,  consisted  in  two 
things.  His  associations  with  the  Indians  gave  him  a  complete 
knowledge  of  their  character — and  he  treated  with  them  on  the 
great  principles  of  humanity  and  justice. 

And  yet  the  Government  was  destitute  of  all  the  ordinary 
means  of  support.  They  had  not  a  dollar,  nor  could  loans  be 
obtained.  An  army  was  in  the  field,  but  they  could  not  be 
supported.  When  Congress  met  at  Houston,  General  Felix 
Huston,  who  commanded  the  army,  hurried  to  the  place.  He 
had  projected  a  grand  campaign  against  Matamoras.  Every 
man  who  felt  jealous  of  the  influence  of  the  President  joined 
in  the  scheme.  The  army  now  numbered  over  2,400  men. 
The  President  foresaw  the  consequences  of  these  movements. 
There  was  no  money  in  the  Treasury,  or  means,  or  currency, 
except  promissory  notes,  struck  on  common  paper.  It  was 
clearly  impossible  to  conduct  a  campaign.  The  President  saw 
what  the  upshot  of  this  matter  would  be  if  something  were 
not  done  at  once,  and  he  resorted  to  a  sagacious  expedient. 
Col.  Rodgers,  now  left  in  command  of  the  army,  had  caused 
it  to  be  understood  that,  if  the  volunteers  did  not  get  justice, 


144  HOUSTON    DISBANDS    THE    ARMY. 

he  would  march  with  them  to  the  Seat  of  Government,  "  chas- 
tise the  President,  kick  Congress  out  of  doors,  and  give  laws 
to  Texas." 

At  this  crisis  the  President  determined  to  cut  the  evil  up  by 
the  roots.  General  Felix  Huston  had  occasionally  indulged 
his  men  in  what  he  called  a  Saturnalia^  where  murders  had 
occurred  in  consequence  of  the  brutal  intoxication  of  the  men. 
One  evening,  from  intelligence  of  what  was  doing  in  Con- 
gress (for  he  never  visited  the  House,  except  at  the  opening 
or  close  of  the  Session),  Houston  directed  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  be  ready  to  start  the  next  morning,  at  two  o'clock,  for 
the  Camp.  He  handed  him  sealed  orders,  to  be  opened  in 
the  Camp,  and  ordered  him  to  go  there  with  all  possible  dis- 
patch. These  orders  required  the  Secretary  to  furlough  the 
army  by  companies,  until  they  were  reduced  to  six  hundred 
men.  The  first  company  was  furloughed  to  march  to  Dimitt's 
Landing,  on  Matagorda  Bay ;  the  second  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Brazos  ;  the  third  to  Galveston ;  and  this  process  was  con- 
tinued till  the  reduction  was  made.  His  object  was  to  give 
them  an  opportunity  to  get  to  the  United  States  by  water,  and 
thus  relieve  the  country  from  apprehensions.  The  furloughs 
given  to  the  men  were  unlimited,  but  they  were  liable  to  be 
recalled  at  any  time  by  Proclamation ;  and  if  they  did  not 
report  themselves  in  thirty  days  after  the  Proclamation  they 
were  to  be  considered  deserters,  and  treated  as  such.  Houston 
could  not  disband  the  army,  for  there  was  nothing  to  pay 
them  off  with ;  and  he  had  been  taught  a  lesson  by  the  attempt 
of  General  Washington  to  disband  the  army  of  the  North.  And 
yetjSO  entirely  had  all  subordination  been  broken  down — daring 
scenes  of  violence  were  so  constantly  occurring  at  the  camp — 
so  many  lawless  and  desperate  men  were  banded  together,  to 
commit  high-handed  depredations — that  the  whole  country 
began  to  suffer  the  most  serious  apprehensions.  Houston 
manifested  no  alarm,  but  the  course  he  took  bespoke  his  fears. 
He  was  determined  that  the  army  should  be  disbanded,  and 
he  accomplished  his  purpose  in  his  own  way.     When  the 


RECKLESS    LEGISLATION VETOES.  145 

various  companies  reached  their  destinations,  no  longer  held 
together  by  the  bond  which  iinion  had  before  given,  they 
thought  they  had  seen  enough  of  military  life.  They  had 
fared  roughly  ;  and  thcii-  surplus  chivalry  had  so  completely 
oozed  out  of  the  holes  in  their  coats,  that  they  no  longer  had 
courage  enough  to  be  dangerous ;  and — fearing  they  would  not 
get  out  of  the  country  before  the  Proclamation  was  issued — - 
they  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  United  States.  In 
thirty  days  they  had  all  disappeared;  and  when  the  finale  was 
known  throughout  the  country,  every  man  felt  that  Houston 
had  saved  the  nation  from  the  deepest  peril.  It  was,  in  fact,  a 
stroke  of  bold,  but  sagacious  policy,  which  none  but  a  man 
like  him  would  have  dared  to  attempt.  General  Felix  Huston 
was  plotting  at  the  Capital ;  but  before  he  knew  what  the 
President  was  doing,  his  army  was  disbanded. 

About  this  time  a  Land  Law  was  passed,  under  which  all 
the  troubles  about  titles  have  grown  up.  Its  object  was  spe- 
culation, and  many  voted  for  it  anticipating  enormous  gains. 
Houston  vetoed  it  in  one  of  his  ablest  state  papers.  But  his 
veto  was  not  supported,  and  the  law  w^ent  into  operation.  A 
few  years  showed  its  malign  and  fatal  fruits.  It  opened  the 
door  to  all  sorts  of  fraud,  and  was  a  fruitful  source  of  las^insr 
litigation.  This  was  but  a  single  specimen  of  the  reckless- 
ness of  Legislation  in  the  Congress  of  Texas.  (During  Hous- 
ton's two  terms  he  issued  not  less  than  eighty  vetoes.)  Had 
there  not  been  a  firm  and  intelligent  statesman  at  the  head  of 
the  Government,  no  man  can  tell  where  such  Congresses 
would  have  plunged  the  Nation. 

Another  Law  was  passed,  authorizing  an  excessive  issue  of 
Promissory  Notes.  This  also  the  President  vetoed,  and  he 
declared  that  if  the  measure  prevailed  the  paper  would  soon 
depreciate  ten  to  one.  He  arrested  this  fatal  proceeding  for  a 
time.  It  passed  under  the  administration  of  his  successor,  and 
his  prophecy  was  abundantly  fulfilled. 

During  the  year  1837  the  country  was  agitated  by  occasional 

alarms  of  Mexican  and  Indian  invasions,  but  Houston  was  on 

the  alert,  and  nothing  of  the  kind  look  place.     The  utmost 
10 


146        BENEFICENT  FKUITS  OF  HOUSTON^S  ADMINISTRATION. 

confidence  in  bis  administration  prevailed  among  the  people; 
and  the  beautiful  spectacle  was  presented  of  an  industrious 
and  increasing  population,  which  bad  just  recovered  from  the 
shock  and  the  devastation  of  a  powerful  invading  army,  and 
environed  with  Mexican  and  Savage  foes,  quietly  and  suc- 
cessfully prosecuting  the  arts  of  peace.  Houston  proclaimed 
trade  and  intercourse  between  Mexico  and  Texas,  and  caused 
his  Proclamation  to  be  printed  and  circulated  in  both  lan- 
guages. Trade  grew  up  rapidly;  the  frontier  counties  were 
repopulated  ;  and  the  tide  of  emigration  was  gradually  flow- 
ing towards  the  Mexican  borders.  Caravans  of  horses  and 
mules  came  into  Texas,  with  large  quantities  of  silver  and 
merchandize ;  good  feeling  was  fast  growing  up,  and  con- 
tinued to  increase.  Men,  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  were  now 
anxious  for  peace.  The  Mexican  people  had  nothing  to  gain 
in  battle,  and  had  the  renewal  of  hostilities  depended  on  the 
vote  of  the  Mexican  population,  both  countries  would  have 
been  blessed  with  lasting  peace. 

We  must  now  close  our  brief  account  of  Houston's  first 
administration.  The  proposition  for  annexation  had  been 
steadily  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  the  Government  at 
Washington.  But  the  Texian  ministers  received  little  encour- 
agement,  and  as  Texas  could  promise  herself  no  advantage 
from  further  negotiations,  Houston  withdrew  the  proposition. 
He  believed  that  any  further  attempts  to  consummate  that 
great  measure  would  prejudice  Texas  in  the  eyes  of  other 
nations  ;  and  in  withdrawing  the  proposal  his  conduct  met  the 
approval  of  the  nation.  His  Presidential  term  closed  the  12th 
of  December,  1838.  He  went  out  of  office,  leaving  a  Govern- 
ment perfectly  organized  ;  with  officers  of  ability,  integrity, 
and  economy  in  every  department  of  the  State.  The  nation 
was  not  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  in  debt,  with  about 
$600,000  of  Promissory  notes  in  circulation.  Texas  had 
peace  with  the  Indians  and  commerce  with  Mexico.  The 
feuds  between  the  two  nations  were  dying  away,  and  the 
Promissory  notes  were  at  par.  This  circumstance  is,  perhaps, 
the  clearest  and  most  convincing  proof  of  the  great  ability  and 


A    FRONTIER    POPULATION,  147 

integrity  with  which  Houston  had  conducted  the  GovernmenL 
There  was  little  specie  in  the  country — how  these  notes  were 
ever  to  be  redeemed  the  people  did  not  know ; — but  they  said, 
"  As  long  as  Old  Sam  is  at  the  helm  the  ship  is  safe."  They 
were  voyaging  through  stormy  seas,  but  they  knew  they 
were  sailing  with  Caesar. 

No  man  was  ever  confronted  with  greater  difficulties  in  the 
beginning  of  his  administration — for  the  mild  but  firm  sway  of 
Constitutional  Law  had  to  be  substituted  in  the  place  of  an- 
archy and  confusion,  over  a  reckless  people  who  had  long  been 
accustomed  to  the  unrestrained  liberty  of  the  frontier,  where  no 
man  Ipoked  for  protection  but  in  his  own  right  arm.  During 
these  revolutionary  times,  too,  even  in  the  older  settlements,  the 
ordinary  course  of  justice  had  been  suspended,  and  it  was  no 
strange  thing  that  such  men  should  not  at  once  yield  to  the 
high  supremacy  of  Constitutional  Law.  The  very  same  ele- 
ments of  character,  which  have  long  made  the  Anglo-Saxons 
the  most  law-abiding  people  on  the  globe,  have  always  made 
them  the  most  lawless  frontier-men.  Men  who  choose  their 
homes  in  the  distant  forest  or  prairie,  are  slow  to  transfer  their 
protection  from  their  rifles,  which  never  miss  fire,  to  tardy 
juries  which  seldom  mete  out  justice.  How  long  was  it  be- 
fore that  wonderful  People,  that  first  scared  the  wild  beasts 
from  the  solemn  forests  of  the  Tiber,  voted  to  abide  by  the 
awards  of  the  Temple  of  Justice !  And  how  many  centuries 
did  our  ancestors  roam  over  the  beautiful  Island  of  Britain, 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  before  they  would  listen  to 
the  stern  utterances  of  Judicial  Tribunals.  But  Houston  could 
sway  those  reckless  frontier  settlers  by  the  mild  sceptre  of 
civil  Law  as  easily  as  he  had  swayed  them  by  the  stern  despot- 
ism of  the  camp. 

But  while  he  was  successfully  accomplishing  these  benign 
changes,  and  rearing  the  noble  structure  of  civil  government, 
he  was  not  only  harassed  by  petty  intrigues,  but  confronted 
with  formidable  combinations.  The  same  clique  of  small  but 
ambitious  men,  who  had  from  the  beginning  busied  themselves 
in  inventing  means  to  undermine  the  castle  which  they  could 


148  Houston's  valedictory  address. 

not  overthrow,  while  Houston  was  bleeding  on  the  field,  or 
toiling  anxiously  in  the  Cabinet,  finding  all  their  intrigues  fruit- 
less, at  last  cemented  themselves  as  well  as  they  could,  into 
one  organized  conspiracy,  bent  upon  his  destruction.  Their 
history  would  be  a  story  of  all  that  is  exciting  in  faction  and 
mean  in  selfishness.  But  we  have  neither  time  nor  inclination 
to  chronicle  their  doings — nor  would  we  snatch  them  from 
the  oblivion  to  which  they  seem  to  be  hastening. 

Houston's  conduct  throughout  the  country  met  with  the 
warmest  approval,  and  he  would  have  been  the  almost  unani- 
mous choice  of  the  people,  had  he  been  eligible  to  the  office, 
the  next  term.  But  the  2d  Section  of  the  Third  Article  .of  the 
Constitution  declared — that,  "  The  First  President  elected  by 
the  people  shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  two  years,  and 
shall  be  ineligible  during  the  next  succeeding  term."  An  ac- 
cident gave  the  Presidency  to  Mr.  Lamar.  Just  before  the 
election  his  rival  died  ! — and  no  other  candidate  was  brought 
forward. 

It  had  been  said  that  the  President  Elect  would  be  the  idol  of 
the  State,  and  that  Houston's  power  was  gone.  The  hour  of  his 
resignation  came,  and  the  largest  concourse  of  people,  ever  seen 
in  Texas,  gathered.  An  attempt  had  been  made  to  prevent 
the  retiring  President  from  delivering  his  valedictory  address — 
the  arrangements  of  the  Inauguration  Committee  utterly  ex- 
cluded him.  But  when  the  fact  was  known,  a  burst  of  indig- 
nation went  up  from  the  vast  multitude, — the  Cf»mmittee  and 
their  arrangements  were  all  set  aside,  and  the  name  of  the 
Hero  of  San  Jacinto  was  on  every  tongue. 

When  he  came  forward  in  the  porch  of  the  Capitol,  and  the 
people  gazed  upon  his  lofty,  ample,  and  heroic  form,  relieved 
against  the  portrait  of  Washington,  suspended  behind  him,  a 
wild  shout  of  enthusiasm  rent  the  sky.  He  spoke  three  hours, 
and  we  have  been  told  by  those  who  heard  him,  that  the  dense 
thousands  before  him  swayed  to  and  fro  under  the  impetuous 
storm  of  his  eloquence,  like  a  forest  swayed  by  a  strong  wind. 
He  had  unrolled  the  scroll  of  the  history  of  Texas — he  por- 
trayed her  future  policy,  and  dwelt  upon  her  great:  destiny  if 


THE  BENEDICTION  OF  THE  PATRIOT  AND  SOLDIER.  149 

that  policy  were  pursued.  He  enjoined  most  solemnly  good 
faith  with  all  nations — economy  in  the  government  and  in  in- 
dividuals— the  cultivation  of  peace  with  the  Indians — he  warn- 
ed the  people  against  faction  and  the  rancor  of  party  spirit, 
and  he  implored  them  not  to  treasure  up  their  hopes  in  annex- 
ation or  treaties,  but  to  rely  upon  their  own  public  and  private 
virtue — to  be  just  and  magnanimous  with  all  men  and  with  all 
nations.  \ 

And  in  conclusion,  when  he  took  his  farewell  of  the  people 
he  loved,  he  extended  his  broad  arms  and  poured  down  upon 
them  from  his  great  heart  the  benediction  of  the  patriot  and  the 
soldier,  as  the  tears  streamed  down  his  face.  When  he  ceased, 
all  was  still  but  the  deep  murmur  of  subdued  feeling,  and  that 
vast  multitude  was  all  in  tears ! 


CHAPTER     XI. 


THE    LEGISLATOR. 


The  new  President  began  his  administration  by  opposing 
everything  that  had  been  pursued  and  recommended  by  Hous- 
ton. In  his  Inaugural  Address  he  recommended  the  extermi- 
nation of  the  Indians — pronounced  a  violent  Philippic  against 
Annexation — advocated  the  establishment  of  a  huge  National 
Bank,  and  inculcated  a  splendid  Government. 

The  first  appropriation  for  frontier  defence  was  one  and  a 
half  million  of  Treasury  Notes,  and  another  half  miUion  for 
the  civil  list — without  a  dollar  to  base  the  issues  upon.  A 
regular  army  of  two  Regiments  was  to  be  raised  for  extermi- 
nating the  frontier  Tribes.  A  law  was  passed  to  remove  the 
Seat  of  Government  to  some  point  N.  W.  of  the  San  Antonio 
Road.  Commissioners  were  appointed  by  Congress  from 
its  own  body,  contrary  to  the  Constitution,  to  perform  this 
act.  The  entire  object  of  the  movement  was  speculation. 
With  land  scrip,  which  they  had  procured,  and  certificates  of 
head-rights  granted  to  settlers,  they  dispatched  Surveyors  to 
locate  land  around  the  spot  where  Austin  now  stands — at  the 
extremest  settlement  of  the  Republic  even  at  this  day.  The 
expense  of  removal,  with  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings, 
caused  an  additional  issue  of  Promissory  Notes.  The  new 
Capital  was  so  far  from  the  settlements  the  plank  had  to  be 
carried  thirty  miles. 

The  Republic  soon  lost  confidence  in  the  Administration — 
the  depression  of  the  currency  naturally  followed.  And  yet, 
in  this  state  of  embarrassment  of  the  finances,  and  while  Texas 
was  at  peace  with  Mexico,  the  President  caused  a  proposition 
to  be  introduced  into  both  Houses,  to  conduct  an  expedition 
to  Santa  Fe,  through  a  wilderness  and  Prairie  more  than  five 
hundred  miles.  The  proposition  was  made  in  both  Houses 
at  the  same  time,  and  by  both  rejected.     But  the   President 


THE    SANTA    FE    EXPEDITION.  151 

ordered  the  expedition  during  the  recess  of  Congress  in  1840, 
and  upwards  of  three  hundred  armed  men  started  on  a  war- 
like expedition  to  a  distant  country.  Its  disasters  are  too  well 
known  to  need  a  relation.  The  President  appointed  a  Gover- 
nor for  Santa  Fe — a  Custom  House  Officer  and  a  Military 
Commandant,  and  organized  a  Territorial  Government.  All 
his  plans  subsequently  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  when 
the  men  were  captured,  and  were  a  moving  cause  for  the 
cruelty  with  which  they  were  treated.  The  Expedition  flooded 
the  country  with  another  enormous  issue  of  paper  ^'■promises 
to  pay  money,"  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution  or  Congress. 
The  horses  on  that  Ex|>edition  cost,  on  an  average,  a  thou- 
sand dollars,  the  currency  of  the  President  had  become  so  de- 
preciated. Costly  arms  and  munitions  of  war  had  been  ab- 
stracted from  the  public  arsenal  by  Presidential  edict — the 
country  was  robbed  of  a  large  number  of  its  most  chivalrous 
men — the  public  wagons  and  means  of  transportation  w^ere 
laid  hold  of,  and  a  piece  of  artillery,  with  Mirabeau  B.  Lamar 
inscribed  on  its  breech,  dragged  through  the  Prairies  that  im- 
mense distance  to  become  the  trophy  of  the  enemies  of  Texas 
and  afford  an  illustration  of  the  stupidity  of  the  President,  and 
the  degradation  of  the  nation. 

This  expedition  revived  the  hostilities  between  Texas  and 
Mexico,  which,  but  for  it,  would  have  slept,  perhaps,  for  ever. 
Houston  had  left  the  two  countries  really  at  peace,  and  the 
sole  cause  we  have  ever  been  able  to  ascertain  for  the  renewal 
of  hostilities  was  this  silly  and  lamentable  Expedition.  It  is 
to  be  remarked,  that  for  some  time  previous  to  this  expedition, 
Mr.  Lamar  had  sent  Commissioners  to  Gen.  Arista,  and  his 
object  is  supposed,  by  his  friends,  to  have  been  to  propose  a 
Union  of  the  Northern  Provinces  with  Texas,  forming  a  great 
Power,  over  whose  government  he  was  to  be  placed.  The  sa- 
gacious Arista  took  advantage  of  the  incompetency  of  his 
friend,  and  returned  Commissioners.  They  were  in  Austin 
when  the  Santa  Fe  Expedition  took  up  its  line  of  march,  and 
witnessed  the  silly  display.  What  passed  between  "  the  high 
contracting  parties,"  is  noi  known  with  certainty,  for  the  facts 


152  A    PEURILE    STATESMAN. 

have  never  been  officially  disclosed.  The  world  knows  the 
result.  Arista  seems  to  have  given  into  the  plan,  for  one 
thing  is  certain,  the  Expedition  started  from  Austin  with  a 
guide  who  had  long  resided  in  Mexico,  and  spoke  the  lan- 
guage perfectly ;  and  the  commanding  officers  charged  him 
with  their  betrayal  at  San  Miguel  and  Santa  Fe.  When  the 
guide  got  them  many  days  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  mise- 
ries of  their  situation  began  to  press  heavily  on  them,  he 
abandoned  them  in  their  calamity,  and  never  was  heard  of  again. 
The  object  of  Arista  doubtless  was  to  have  them  conducted 
into  the  solitudes  of  the  wilderness,  and  there  left  to  perish 
— if  this  should  fail,  the  authorities  of  Santa  Fe,  being  duly 
informed,  were  to  receive,  betray  and  then  capture  them.  The 
blame  of  all  these  proceedings  is  to  be  cast  upon  the  Presi- 
dent. 

DurinsT  his  administration,  he  sent  two  ministers  to  Vera 
Cruz — but  neither  of  them  was  received  ;  and  they  returned,  to 
the  disgrace  of  Texas.  There  was  no  method  or  consistency 
in  anything  he  did.  That  he  wished  to  be  distinguished  and 
wished  well  to  his  adopted  country,  there  is  no  doubt ;  but  he 
was  a  feeble  and  puerile  statesman.  In  civil  affairs,  he  was 
a  great  schemer.  One  day,  his  hobby  was  a  National  Bank  ; 
another,  it  was  a  great  National  Road  ;  a  third,  it  was  an  alli- 
ance with  Mexico,  by  his  marrying  the  daughter  of  some  dis- 
tinguished public  functionary  of  that  country;  for  the  diplo- 
matist supposed  his  alliance  with  some  opulent  family  would 
be  tantamount  to  an  aUiance  between  the  two  nations.  One 
day,  he  must  make  war  upon  one  tribe  of  Indians  ;  the  next 
day,  upon  another.  His  first  great  exploit,  when  his  adminis- 
tration began,  was  to  attack  the  Cherokees,  and  drive  them 
from  their  possessions  between  the  Nueces  and  Sabine  river.-, 
where  they  had  been  settled  longer  than  the  Texian  colonists 
themselves.  They  had  been  invited  by  Mexico  from  the 
United  States,  and  land  had  been  assigned  and  great  induce- 
ments held  out  to  them.  They  had  settled  there,  and  were 
quietly  and  inoffensively  pursuing  their  avocations.  In  1835, 
the  Consultation  had  guaranteed  to  that  tribe  undisturbed  pos- 


OUTRAGES    ON    THE    INDIANS.  153 

session  of  their  territory,  by  a  solemn  assurance,  signed  by  each 
member  of  the  Consultation.  A  treaty  had  been  subsequently 
made  with  the  tribe  (recognizing  the  same  rights  and  guar- 
rantee)  by  Houston  and  other  Commissioners,  and  this  treaty 
had  been  ratified  by  the  Consultation.  The  Convention  which 
declared  their  Independence,  had  recognized  this  as  well  as 
all  other  acts  of  the  Consultation  as  valid.  A  more  solemn 
ratification  of  a  treaty  could  not  have  been  made. 

Mr.  Lamar  began  his  administration  by  carrying  out  that  sec- 
tion of  his  Inaugural  Address,  in  which  he  had  recommended 
the  extermination  of  the  Indians.  The  Cherokees  were  a 
peaceful,  industrious  and  profitable  community.  The  arts 
had  made  considerable  progress  among  them,  and  they  lived 
nearly  as  comfortably  as  white  men.  During  the  hostilities 
with  Mexico,  they  had  been  prevented  by  the  influence  of 
Houston  and  Rusk  from  going  over  to  the  enemy,  and  they 
had  made  great  advances  in  civilisation  during  Houston's 
Presidency.  They  looked  upon  the  Texians  as  their  friends, 
and  Houston  as  their  "  Father."  With  a  force  of  700  men, 
a  portion  of  whom  had  fought  at  San  Jacinto,  Lamar  com- 
menced his  war  of  extermination  against  "  Houston's  pet  In- 
dians." His  force  was  some  five  times  superior,  and  of 
course  he  carried  ruin  to  the  poor  red  men's  homes ! 

This  treatment  of  the  Cherokees  and  other  tribes  spread 
scenes  of  rapine  and  murder  from  the  Red  River  to  the  Rio 
Grande.  Even  the  President's  two  regiments  of  regulars  in 
the  field  could  not  secure  frontier  protection. 

In  the  disorders  of  Yucatan,  when  a  separation  from  Mex- 
ico was  spoken  of,  Mr.  Lamar  entered  into  a  treaty  of  alli- 
ance with  a  minister  sent  to  him  for  that  purpose,  and,  without 
the  concurrence  of  the  Senate  or  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
ordered  theXexian  Navy  to  sail  to  the  coast  of  Yucatan.  That 
Province  was  then  an  integral  part  of  Mexico,  and  had  not 
proclaimed  revolt  or  independence. 

Such  were  some  of  the  acts  of  this  puerile  administration. 
We  should  not  have  glanced  at  them,  even  in  so  brief  a  man- 
ner, had  it  not  been  necessary  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of 


154  lamar's  administration. 

the  state  of  the  country  when  Houston's  second  term  began. 
Lamar,  who  had  found  the  Government  perfectly  organized, 
had  succeeded  in  reducing  the  country  to  the  very  verge  of 
ruin.  All  the  difficulties  that  had  lain  in  the  way  of  the  ad- 
vancement of  Texas,  Houston  had  successfully  overcome. 
Disinterested  and  sagacious  spectators  of  the  progress  of  affairs 
beyond  the  Sabine,  have  often  been  heard  to  say,  that  in  no 
portion  of  the  world  had  a  civil  government  ever  been  estab- 
lished and  consolidated  in  so  short  a  space  of  time.  This 
was  as  much  the  work  of  Houston,  as  the  victory  of  San  Ja- 
cinto had  been,  although  in  both  instances  he  was  surrounded 
and  aided  by  brave  and  true  men,  or  he  never  could  have 
done  it.  He  left  the  domestic  and  foreign  relations,  the 
finances  and  the  administration  of  law,  the  agriculture  and 
the  commerce  of  Texas,  all  in  a  sound,  peaceful,  flourish- 
ing state. 

When  Mr.  Lamar  left  the  administration,  what  was  the 
state  of  the  nation  ?  He  had  committed  outrages  upon  peaceful 
Indian  tribes,  and  kindled  the  flames  of  savage  war  all  along 
the  borders  of  Texas.  He  had  sent  a  hostile  marauding  Ex- 
pedition into  the  very  heart  of  the  Mexican  Provinces,  and 
sent  the  navy  to  aid  a  revolting  territory  in  making  war  upon 
Mexico,  and  now  she  was  rousing  all  her  force  for  a  new  in- 
vasion of  Texas.  He  had  quadrupled  the  national  debt,  and 
squandered  the  public  treasure,  till  Texian  securities  depre- 
ciated ten  to  one.  The  people  had  lost  all  respect  for  the  Go- 
vernment, and  confidence  in  its  stability.  The  mail  routes 
had  been  broken  up,  profligacy  prevailed,  and  the  social  com- 
pact began  to  be  regarded  by  the  orderly  and  patriotic  every- 
where as  virtually  dissolved. 

But  Lamar's  term  had  nearly  expired,  and  the  eyes  of  all 
men,  who  surveyed  with  gloomy  forebodings  the  ruin  that 
seemed  to  have  fallen  on  the  country,  were  now  turned  once 
more  anxiously  upon  Houston.  Even  the  lawless  and  the 
desperate  began  to  fear  the  result  of  their  crimes,  and  with 
one  united  voice  the  man,  who  had  already  twice  saved  the 
country,  was  called  a  third  time  to  the  helm.     Houston  was 


HOUSTON    IN    CONGRESS.  155 

one  of  the  few  men  who  believed  that  the  Nation  and  the 
Government  could  be  saved,  and  he  came  forward  to  the  res- 
cue. No  Conventions  were  obliged  to  nominate  him.  There 
was  an  almost  universal  feeling  that  no  other  man  could  save 
Texas,  and  Texas  made  him  her  President  for  the  second  time, 
the  very  first  hour  the  Constitution  would  allow  her. 

During  Lamar's  Administration  Houston  had  consented  to 
represent  his  District  in  the  Congress  of  1839-40,  and  again 
in  1840-41,  and  it  was  well  that  he  had,  for  he  not  only  ar- 
rested the  tide  of  evil — he  had  prevented  a  dissolution  of  the 
Government.  On  a  certain  occasion,  after  a  stormy  debate, 
Congress  was  going  to  adjourn  shw  die.  The  members  pub- 
licly proclaimed  that  all  hope  of  carrying  on  the  Government 
was  gone,  and  they  were  determined  to  end  the  farce  by  going 
home.  Houston  rose  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest,  as  the  mem- 
bers were  leaving  their  seats,  and  addressed  the  Speaker. 
There  never  was  a  time  when  that  man  could  not  get  a  hear- 
ing, and  the  rush  to  the  door  stopped.  "  Let  us  hear  old 
Sam,"  was  the  voice  on  every  side. 

The  crowd  began  to  return — members  gradually  resumed 
their  seats  and  dropped  their  hats — they  pressed  up  around 
him — the  House  became  still,  and  not  ten  minutes  went  by  be- 
fore nothing  was  heard  throughout  the  hall  but  the  rich,  deep 
voice  that  had  echoed  over  the  field  of  San  Jacinto.  No  idea 
of  the  speech  can  be  given  but  by  telling  the  result.  He 
closed  by  reading  a  resolution,  "that  the  House  adjourn  till 
to-morrow  morning  at  the  usual  hour,"  and  not  a  member 
voted  against  it !  They  flocked  around  him,  and  so  universal 
was  the  feelin<;  that  but  for  him  the  Government  would  have 
gone  to  pieces,  that  even  his  old  enemies  seized  him  by  the 
hand,  and  thanked  him  "  for  saving  the  country." 


CHAPTER    XII. 

AGAIN    PRESIDENT. 

He  was  inaugurated  the  second  time  on  the  13th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1841.  His  Message  was  hardly  delivered  before  the  news 
came  of  the  capture  of  the  Santa  Fe  Expedition.  This  was 
the  first  greeting  he  had,  in  office,  of  the  fatal  results  of  the 
policy  of  his  predecessor.  He,  however,  began  immediately 
to  bethink  himself  of  the  redemption  of  the  unfortunate  men 
who  had  been  deluded  away  into  the  wilderness — for  the  lives 
of  Texian  soldiers  seemed  to  be  as  dear  to.him  as  they  could 
have  been  if  they  had  been  his  own  children. 

The  Government  was  now  in  an  infinitely  worse  state  than 
it  had  been  when  he  took  the  reins  five  years  before.     Then 
it  was  a  formless  chaos — now  it  Avas  a  ruin.     The  body  politic 
had  fallen  into  premature  and  inflammatory  decay.     It  was 
not  a  disease  only,  but  a  relapse.     The  Treasury  was  not  only 
empty  but  millions  in  debt,  and  not  another  dollar  could  be 
borrowed  in  Christendom.     The  Promissory  Notes  and   Lia- 
bilities of  the  Government  depreciated  ten  to  one,  and   they 
were  postponed,  but  not  repudiated.     The  money  had  been 
squandered,  but  the  debt  must  be  paid.     But  Texas  could  at 
that  time  have  no  more  paid  it  than   Parliament  could  pay 
the  debt  of  England.     But  something  had  to  be  done.    Hous- 
ton proposed  a  new  currency  called  the  Exchequer  System — 
its  entire  issues  were  not  to  exceed  $200,000.     He  had  asked 
as  a  guarantee  for  their  redemption  the  Customs  of  the  coun- 
try, and  certain  tracts  of  lands,  amounting  to  about  three  mil- 
lions of  acres.  "While  in  Congress  he  had  procured  an  act  to  be 
passed  declaring  these  lands  not  subject  to  location.     But  now 
the  private  interests  of  members  were  to  be  interfered  with, 
and  although  Congress  hypothecated  the  Customs  they  would 
not  pledge  the  lands. 

The  President  was  fully  aware  of  the  opposition  that  was 
combining  against  him.     The  same  hostile  clique  which  had 


Houston's  second  administration.  157 

attempted  to  ruin  him  whenever  he  was  in  power,  and  who 
had  come  so  near  ruining  the  country  when  they  had  power 
themselves,  were  now  determined  to  control  the  appointments 
under  the  new  administration.  But  all  attempts  to  constrain 
his  policy  proved  as  ineffectual  as  they  had  hitherto  done.  He 
chose  for  his  cabinet  officers  men  in  whom  he  had  unlimited 
confidence,  and  they  were  among  the  most  enlightened  and 
firm  statesmen  of  Texas.  Mr.  Jones,  the  late  President,  be- 
came Secretary  of  State,  Col.  Hockley,  a  warm  patriot  and  a 
devoted  friend  of  Houston  in  all  his  struggles.  Secretary  of 
War  and  Marine,  Wm.  H.  Dangerfield,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  G.  W.  Terrell,  Attorney  General.  During 
these  turbulent  times,  when  prominent  men  declared  openly 
that  they  would  ruin  Houston's  administration,  even  if  they 
had  to  do  it  by  a  revolution,  multitudes  of  broken  down  specu- 
lators and  politicians  from  the  United  States  were  continually 
flocking  into  Texas,  and  as  they  found  little  chance  of  winning 
distinction  in  the  new  field  they  had  chosen,  they  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  opposition,  and  devoted  themselves  zealously  to 
the  ruin  of  the  state. 

But  Houston  had  marked  out  his  policy  and  he  went  calmly 
and  firmly  on  to  its  execution.  His  first  measure  was  to  de- 
spatch a  minister  to  Washington  to  open  negotiations  for  the 
annexation  of  Texas.  His  first  object  was  annexation — if  this 
failed,  his  next  was  the  recognition  of  the  independence 
of  Texas  by  Mexico ;  and  if  he  failed  in  both,  he  was  resolved 
to  open  negotiations  with  France  and  England,  and  enter  into 
some  treaty  or  alliance  which  would  secure  peace  to  Texas, 
extend  her  commerce,  and  advance  her  prosperity.  His  next 
movement  was  to  recal  the  Navy,  which  Mr.  Lamar  had  de- 
spatched to  help  on  a  revolt  in  Yucatan. 

In  the  meantime  the  country  was  absolulely  stripped  of  all 
her  defences.  A  wide  coast  and  a  broad  sea  were  open  to 
the  depredations  of  the  enemy ;  the  Santa  Fe  expedition  and 
the  league  with  Yucatan  had  given  Mexico  every  provocation 
for  a  renewal  of  hostilities ;  and  the  outrages  committed  upon 
the  Indian  tribes  had  broken  the  amity  that  had  subsisted. 


158  NEWS   OF    A    MEXICAN    INVASION. 

In  this  exposed  situation  of  the  country,  when  an  irruption 
from  the  frontiers,  or  an  invasion  from  Mexico,  might  be  rea- 
sonably apprehended,  Houston  recommended  Congress  to 
raise  a  company  of  sixty  men  to  protect  the  archives — for 
there  was  then  no  military  force  in  the  field.  Congress  re- 
fused to  grant  the  subsidies  necessary,  and  adjourned  the  5th 
of  February.  He  soon  after  started  for  Houston,  to  bring  his 
family  to  the  seat  of  government.  While  he  was  at  Galves- 
ton, in  the  early  part  of  March,  the  news  came  of  the  invasion 
by  Vasquez.  The  intelligence  spread  the  deepest  alarm 
throughout  the  country.  All  along  the  western  border,  fami- 
lies were  seen  flying  from  their  habitations  towards  the  interior. 
The  public  mind  was  stirred  by  the  wildest  apprehensions. 
Everybody  knew  the  provocation  that  had  been  given  to  the 
enemy — the  follies  and  the  disasters  of  Santa  Fe  seemed  but 
a  prelude  to  another  Goliad  or  Alamo  slaughter— the  coast 
was  without  protection,  and  no  army  concentrated  to  march 
on  the  invader. 

Suddenly  all  the  intrigues  and  conspiracies  against  Houston 
ceased.  The  very  men  who  had  been  foremost  to  threaten 
the  overthrow  of  his  administration  in  the  storm  of  a  revolu- 
tion, were  now  the  most  active  in  stimulating  their  neighbors 
to  prepare  for  the  approaching  disasters.  Committees  of  vigi- 
lance and  safety  were  everywhere  organized,  and  all  those 
means  resorted  to  which  are  called  into  requisition  in  revolu- 
tionary times.  Houston's  orders  at  this  time  show  that  he  did 
not  believe  the  enemy  would  remain  long  in  the  country. 
The  event  proved  that  the  Mexicans  had  already  made  a  pre- 
cipitate retreat  beyond  the  Rio  Grande,  after  committing  out- 
rages upon  the  citizens  of  San  Antonio. 

In  the  meantime,  the  press  throughout  the  south  and  west 
had  displayed  great  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  Texas,  and  relying 
upon  the  sensation  caused  in  the  United  States  by  the  news  of 
the  reported  invasion  and  the  miscarriage  of  the  Santa  Fe  expe- 
dition, Houston  made  an  appeal  to  the  American  people.  He 
sent  agents  to  the  United  States  to  receive  contributions,  and 
procure  volunteers.     He  issued  a  Proclamation,  in  which  he 


THE    EXTRA    SESSION    OF    CONGRESS.  159 

distinctly  required  that  all  troops  which  came  should  be  per- 
fectly armed  and  provisioned  for  a  campaign  of  six  months 
— since  Texas  had  no  means  of  doing  it  herself — several  hun- 
dred volunteers  v^rent  to  Texas,  in  direct  violation  of  the  pro- 
clamation— for  they  went  without  arms  and  without  provisions. 
Contributions  were  merely  nominal.  Some  generous  individ- 
uals in  Georgia  raised  something  over  $500  at  a  public  meeting 
' — but  all  that  was  raised  besides,  throughout  the  United  States, 
and  reported  to  the  government  of  Texas,  in  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, provisions,  equipments  and  money,  did  no  tamount  to 
five  hundred  dollars! 

In  June,  Houston  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  to 
consider  the  state  of  the  country,  and  devise  means  for  national 
defence.  They  debated  and  legislated  without  much  formality 
or  delay,  for  the  impression  was  general,  that  if  anything  was 
to  be  done,  it  had  better  be  done  quickly.  So,  too,  all  wise 
men  would  have  said,  "if  t'vvere  well  done."  But  their  de- 
liberations ended  in  passing  a  bill  which  invested  Houston  with 
dictatorial  powers,  and  appropriated  ten  millions  of  acres  of  the 
public  domain,  to  carry  on  a  campaign.  But  this  came  no 
nearer  making  a  provision  for  war,  than  a  resolution  appropriat- 
ing ten  millions  of  acres  of  blue  sky,  and  conferring  dictatorial 
power  upon  the  north  wind  !  For  there  was  not  a  dollar  of 
money  in  the  treasury  to  pay  agents  to  go  and  dispose  of  the 
land,  and  Houston  was  the  last  man  to  make  use  of  dictatorial 
powers  in  resisting  the  encroachments  of  a  Dictator. 

But  Congress  thought  they  had  acquitted  themselves  like 
men — and  their  disposition,  probably,  was  good  enough  too — 
but  it  had  no  more  efficacy  than  the  disposition  of  the  man  who 
willed  in  his  last  testament  all  his  debts  to  be  paid,  for  in  neither 
case  could  the  executor  find  anything  had  been  left  to  pay  the 
debts  with.  Apprehensions  had  been  felt,  while  the  bill  was 
under  debate,  that  Houston  would  veto  it,  and  the  time  he  could 
constitutionally  keep  it  had  nearly  gone  by.  The  excitement 
was  intense ;  the  Capital  was  filled  with  angry  and  desperate  men, 
and  their  noisy  clamor  spread  over  the  country.  All  sorts  of 
accusations  were  brought  against  the  Executive,  and  he  was 


160  AN    ALARMING    CRISIS. 

plied  with  threats  from  every  quarter.  He  was  told  that  his 
life  would  pay  the  forfeit  if  he  vetoed  the  bill.  His  friends. 
who  apprehended  his  assassination,  gathered  around  him,  and 
besouocht  him  not  to  hazard  a  veto,  for  it  would  end  in  the  ruin 
of  himself  and  his  country.  At  last  the  ebullitions  of  excite- 
ment began  to  subside,  but  they  were  followed  by  demonstra- 
tions of  a  deeper  and  more  desperate  feeling.  For  two  weeks, 
few,  even  of  his  friends,  approached  the  President's  house,  and 
they  stole  there  under  the  shadow  of  the  night ; — assassins, 
in  the  meantime,  were  lurking  around  his  dwelling.  Even  his 
Cabinet  officers  began  to  talk  about  resigning. 

But  in  the  midst  of  all  this  storm,  which  few  men  could  have 
resisted,  Houston  was  calm  and  cheerful.  He  stationed  no 
guard  around  his  house ;  he  had  no  spies  on  the  alert ;  he  did 
not  even  inquire  what  was  said  in  Congress,  or  done  in  the 
streets.  The  blinds  and  the  windows  of  his  dwelling  were 
wide  open,  and  he  was  often  seen  walking  across  his  parlor, 
conversing  cheerfully  with  his  family.  His  wife,  whom  he  had 
married  in  1840,  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and  gifted 
of  w^omen,  reposed  confidently  upon  his  character,  and  she 
calmly  and  confidingly  sustained  him  by  her  placid  and  intel- 
lectual conversations.  Long  after  the  lights  had  been  ex- 
tinguished through  the  town,  and  sullen,  desperate,  armed  men 
were  gathered  in  secret  meetings  to  plot,  and  counterplot,  the 
gay  voice  of  his  wife,  mingling  with  the  tones  of  the  harp  and 
the  piano,  was  heard  coming  forth  from  the  open  windows  of 
Houston's  dwelling. 

All  this  must  seem  strange  to  the  reader,  without  doubt,  but 
we  shall  very  soon  solve  the  mystery.  It  was  a  tremendous 
crisis ;  but  Houston  was  equal  to  it,  and  we  know  of  no  act  of 
his  life  in  which  he  s^ave  such  indubitable  evidence  that  nature 
had  lavished  upon  him  all  those  gifts  which  make  up  the  really 
great  man.     The  reader,  too,  will  agree  with  us. 

When  the  time  came,  the  veto  was  sent  up  to  Congress.  In 
it  he  showed  that  they  had  utterly  and  totally  failed  to  accom- 
plish the  object  for  which  he  had  called  them  together.  They 
had  proclaimed  war  against  a  powerful  and  organized  foe,  but 


ACTS  OF  Houston's  administration.  161 

they  had  made  no  provision  for  carrying  it  on.  The  President 
had  not  the  means  of  buying  a  pound  of  powder.  If  they  would 
provide  the  means  for  a  campaign,  he  would  head  it  himself,  if 
necessary  ;  but  without  money,  no  army  could  be  made  ready 
to  take  the  field,  and  any  attempt  at  hostilities  would  only  bring 
down  upon  Texas  universal  contempt.  He  also  dwelt  upon  the 
danger  of  the  precedent  they  had  established,  in  conferring  upon 
the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  country  unlimited  powers.  The 
prerogatives  of  a  dictator  he  never  would  accept,  while  they 
were  lighting  against  that  same  power  in  a  neighboring  state. 

The  veto  w^as  published, — a  universal  calm  at*once  suc- 
ceeded, and  the  man  who  had  been  covered  with  maledictions, 
became  the  idol  of  the  people. 

We  are  now  obliged  to  cut  short  our  relation  of  events  in 
detail,  to  give  a  brief  account  of  other  more  important  move- 
ments. Confidence  began  to  be  restored.  One  open  rebellion 
against  the  laws  of  the  country  Houston  put  down  by  going  to 
the  scene,  and  calling  out  the  militia.  When  desperadoes 
found  there  was  a  man  at  the  head  of  aflfairs,  who  could  not  be 
trifled  with,  they  soon  disbanded,  and  the  supremacy  of  law 
was  again  restored.  A  new  set  of  men  were  in  office — justice 
was  efficiently  administered — economy  was  observed,  and 
although  Mr.  Lamar  had  saddled  an  enormous  debt  upon  the 
country,  which  could  not  be  discharged  for  a  long  time  to  come, 
yet  public  credit  was  being  restored,  and  men  began  to  feel 
proud  of  their  Government. 

Houston  had  left  no  resource  untried  to  effect  the  liberation 
of  the  Santa  Fe  prisoners.  He  had  appealed  to  all  friendly- 
Powers  to  mediate  in  their  release.  The  Congress  of  Texas 
had  adjourned,  after  the  news  of  their  capture  had  arrived, 
without  doing  anything  to  aid  the  President  in  restoring  them  to 
their  liberty.  They  had  been  given  up  as  doomed  men  ;  they 
had  gone  to  Santa  Fe  in  violation  of  the  law  of  nations,  and 
with  no  constitutional  authority  from  their  Government.  They 
had  leen  thrown  on  Houston's  hands ;  his  only  reliance  was 
on  the  terms  of  their  capitulation,  for  he  insisted  that,  even  if 
they  had  been  outlaws  before,  this  had  brought  them  within  the 
11 


162  MEXICAN    WARFARE, 

pale  of  civilized  warfare.  We  have  no  space  to  give  the  his- 
tory of  the  negotiations  that  were  carried  on  for  the  release  of 
these  brave  but  misguided  men.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  they 
were  liberated.  Nor  have  we  space  to  give  the  history  of  the 
Mier  expedition.  Probably  some  authentic  account  (for  none 
such  has  yet  appeared)  will  one  day  be  published. 

Texas  had  now  been  repeatedly  invaded  by  predatory  Mexi- 
can bands,  who  seemed  to  have  but  two  objects — to  harass  the 
nation  they  could  not  subdue,  and  pay  up  their  arrearages  due 
to  their  soldiers  from  the  treasury  of  Mexico,  with  spoils  of  the 
robber.  JVfbxico  was  always  talking  about  a  grand  campaign, 
but  since  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto  she  had  not  dared  to  meet 
the  revolted  Province  in  honorable  battle.  The  people  of 
Mexico  knew  that  the  tyranny  of  her  Dictators  had  lost  them 
for  ever  that  portion  of  their  dominion ;  and  at  no  period  did 
they  wear  the  yoke  so  tamely  that  the  tyrant  in  power  dared 
to  leave  the  Capital  to  head  any  army  of  invasion.  Who- 
ever that  tyrant  may  have  been,  he  knew  that  his  worst  enemies 
were  the  Mexicans  themselves  ;  his  supremacy  rested  upon  the 
presence  of  his  troops  in  the  city,  and  if  he  succeeded  in  con- 
solidating his  power  at  home,  and  turned  his  face  towards 
Texas,  he  was  sure  to  be  overtaken  by  a  courier  from  the  Capi- 
tal with  the  news,  that  his  dominion  was  ended,  and  another 
dictator  had  been  proclaimed.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Texian  Pre- 
sident, the  time  had  come  when  the  civilized  world  should  inter- 
fere to  end  this  contemptible  system  of  pillage  and  robbery  of 
the  Republic. 

Accordingly  he  caused  his  Secretary  of  State  to  address  the 
following  high  toned  and  honorable  appeal  to  the  Great  Powers, 
which  had  acknowledged  the  Independence  of  Texas.  It  shows 
clearly  the  condition  of  Texas,  and  will  correct  many  false  im- 
pressions which  have  gone  abroad  in  reference  to  the  struggles 
of  that  nation.  It  is  also  proper  to  add,  that  this  was  the  paper 
which  proved  so  powerful  in  winning  the  sympathy  and  respect 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  M.  Guizot,  who  ever  after  showed  the 
deepest  interest  in  the  fortunes  of  Texas. 


AN    APPEAL    TO    THK    GREAT    POWERS.  163 

DEPARTiMENT  OF    StATE,  TeXAS. 

Washington,  Oct.  15th,  1S42. 

I  am  instructed  by  his  Excellency,  the  President,  to  submit  for  your 
consideration  and  action,  a  subject  of  general  concern  to  civilized  na- 
tions, but  of  peculiar  interest  to  Texas,  viz  :  the  character  of  the  war 
at  present  waged  by  Mexico  against  this  country.  The  President  is 
led  to  believe,  from  the  nature  of  the  facts  involved,  that  this  step  vi^ill 
be  deemed  not  only  admissible  but  entirely  proper.  The  civilized  and 
Christian  w^orld  are  interested  in  the  unimpaired  preservation  of  those 
principles  and  rules  of  international  intercourse,  both  in  peace  and 
war,  which  have  received  the  impress  of  wisdom  and  humanity,  and 
been  strengthened,  through  a  long  course  of  time,  by  the  practice  and 
approval  of  the  most  powerful  and  enlightened  of  modern  States. 
To  these  rules,  in  their  application  to  the  pending  difficulties  between 
this  repubhc  and  Mexico,  your  attention  is  respectfully  invited. 

Whenever  a  people,  separate  and  sovereign  in  their  political  charac- 
ter, are  admitted  into  the  great  community  of  nations,  they  incur  re- 
sponsibilities and  contract  obligations  which  are  reciprocal  in  their 
character,  and  naturally  binding  upon  all  the  members  of  this  com- 
munity, the  extent  and  force  of  which  depend  upon  that  code  of 
ethics  which  prescribes  the  reciprocal  duties  and  obligations  of  each 
sovereign  member.  Hence  arises  the  right  to  control  the  mode  of 
warfare  pursued  by  one  nation  toward  another,  and  the  corresponding 
duty  of  providing  against  the  perpetration  of  acts  at  variance  with  the 
laws  of  humanity,  and  the  settled  usages  of  civilized  nations. 

In  view  of  the  character  of  hostilities,  at  present  waged  by  Mexico 
against  Texas,  and  of  those  principles  which  have  been,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  government,  so  frequently  and  so  flagrantly  violated  by  our 
enemy,  the  hope  is  confidently  indulged  by  the  President,  that  the 
direct  interference  of  nations  mutually  friendly  will  be  extended  to 
arrest  a  species  of  warfare,  unbecoming  the  age  in  which  we  live,  and 
disgraceful  to  any  people  professing  to  be  civilized. 

The  course  of  conduct  uniformly  observed  by  the  government  and 
people  of  Texas  towards  our  enemy,  stands  in  palpable  contrast  with 
their  manifold  enormities  and  wanton  aggression,  and  will,  it  is 
confidently  expected,  furnish  abundant  ground  for  the  exercise  of  the 
rigrht  of  interference  now  invoked. 

It  has  now  been  nearly  seven  years  since  the  Declaration  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Independence  of  this  Republic.  During  the  whole  of 
this  time,  Mexico,  although  uniformly  asserting  the  ability  and  de- 


164  OFFICIAL    HISTORY    OF    MEXICAN    INVASIONS. 

termination  to  re-subjugate  the  country,  has  never  made  a  formidable 
effort  to  do  so.  Her  principal  war  has  consisted  of  silly  taunts  and 
idle  threats,  of  brasigadocio  bulletins  and  gasconading  proclamativins. 
All  her  boasted  threats  of  invasion  have  resulted  in  nothing  more 
than  fitting  out  and  sending  into  the  most  exposed  portions  of  our 
territory,  petty  marauding  parties  for  the  purpose  of  pillaging  and 
harassing:  the  weak  and  isolated  settlements  on  our  western  border. 

Since  March  last,  no  less  than  three  incursions  of  that  character  have 
been  made,  none  of  which  have  continued  longer  than  eight  days. 
The  first  party  was  composed  of  artillery,  infantry,  rancheros,  and  In- 
dian warriors,  in  all  about  700.  Their  attack  was  made  upon  the 
defenceless  town  of  San  Antonio.  The  second,  consisting  of  about 
800,  attacked  a  party  of  about  200  emigrants  at  Lipantillan.  They 
■were  repulsed  with  loss  and  retreated  out  of  the  country.  The  last, 
tinder  Gen.  Wall,  of  about  1300,  attacked  and  took  San  Antonio  the 
second  time  b}'  surprise,  during  the  session  of  the  District  Court. 
His  force  was  composed  of  regulars,  rancheros  and  Indians.  The  In- 
dians employed  by  the  Mexicans  are  fragments  of  bands  originally 
from  the  United  States,  but  now  located  within  the  limits  of  Texas. 
This  government  has  always  refused  to  employ  the  services  of  In- 
dians, when  tendered  against  Mexico,  and  has  sought  every  possible 
means  to  mitigate,  rather  than  increase  the  calamities  of  war.  Per- 
sisting in  this  effort,  the  President  has  had  recourse  to  the  present 
measure,  with  a  hope  to  subserve  the  cause  of  humanity.  Should 
this  effort  fail,  the  government  must  resort  to  retaliatory  measures, 
growing  out  of  our  peculiar  situation,  which  are  to  be  deprecated  by 
every  Christian  and  generous  feeling.  The  rulers  of  nations  are  respon- 
sible for  their  preservation,  and  as  a  last  resort,  must  ado-ptajust  re- 
taliation. What  is  most  to  be  deplored  in  a  war  of  this  character,  is, 
that  the  unoffending  and  defenceless  become  victims  of  the  most  re- 
lentless cruelty.  War,  in  its  most  generous  and  noble  aspect,  is  ac- 
companied by  great  calamities.  Nations  are  not  benefited  by  it,  and 
it  must  be  productive  of  great  individual  sufferings.  But  when  indi- 
viduals and  nations  are  exasperated  by  repeated  wrongs,  even  cruelty 
itself  may  be  rendered  tolerable,  if  it  be  used  as  retaliation  for  in- 
juries long  endured.  The  massacres  and  cruelties  v^'hich  have  been 
inflicted  upon  Texas,  since  the  commencement  of  her  revolution,  have 
been  responded  to  by  a  generous  forbearance,  but  that  cannot  be  ex- 
pected longer  to  exist. 

The  object  of  Mexico,  in  her  course,  cannot  be  misunderstood. 


\ 


CHARACTER  AND  DISPOSITION  OF  THE  TWO  GOVERNMENTS.  165 

By  incursions  of  the  character  complained  of,  the  spirits  of  our  hus- 
bandmen and  farmers  are  depressed — the  cry  of  invasion  is  kept  up, 
and  the  excitement  incidental  to  war  prevents  emigration,  and  embar- 
rasses our  resources,  by  deterring  men  of  enterprise  and  capital  from 
making  importations  of  goods  into  our  country.  This,  for  a  time, 
may  avail  her  something,  but  the  aggregate  of  human  suffering  will 
be  a  poor  recompense  for  the  advantages  she  may  gain.  The  origin, 
genius,  and  character  of  the  people  of  Texas,  are  guarantees  for  her 
ultimate  success.  Nations  that  contribute  to  her  advancement  will 
command  her  gratitude.  Never,  since  1836,  has  Mexico  attempted 
anything  like  a  general  invasion  of  the  country,  or  conducted  the  war 
upon  any  plan  calculated  to  test  the  superiority  of  the  two  nations  oa 
the  field  of  battle,  and  bring  the  war  to  a  close  by  the  arbitration  of 
arms.  Her  hostile  demonstrations,  thus  far,  have  consisted,  exclu- 
sively, in  the  clandestine  approach  of  small  bands  of  rancheros  from 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  for  plunder  and  theft,  but  sometimes 
associated  with  fragments  of  the  Mexican  army,  composed  for  the 
most  part  of  convict  soldiery,  fit  for  nothing  either  honorable  in  enter- 
prise or  magnanimous  in  conduct.  The  people  of  Texas,  being,  for  the 
most  part,  agriculturalists,  engaged  in  the  tillage  of  the  soil,  the  con- 
sequences of  this  predatory  system  of  warfare  have  been  to  them  ex- 
tremely vexatious  and  harassing,  without  in  any  degree  hastening 
the  adjustment  of  the  difficulties  existing  between  the  parties.  En- 
tirely different  is  the  general  character  of  the  Mexican  population. 
They  are  literally  a  nation  of  herdsmen,  subsisting,  in  a  great  measure, 
on  the  proceeds  of  their  flocks  and  herds.  They  can  move  about 
from  place  to  place,  and  make  their  homes  wherever  inclination  or 
convenience  may  prompt,  without  detriment. 

Hitherto  the  conduct  and  disposition  of  the  Government  and  people 
of  Mexico  have  been  diametrically  opposed  to  those  manifested  by 
the  people  of  Texas.  While  the  one  has  been  depredating  upon  the 
property  and  dwellings  of  our  exposed  and  defenceless  frontier,  mur- 
dering the  inhabitants  in  cold  blood,  or  forcing  them  away  into  a 
loathsome,  and  too  often  fatal,  captivity;  inciting  the  murderous 
tribes  of  hostile  Indians,  who  reside  along  our  northern  border,  to 
plunder  our  exposed  settlements,  stimulating  to  the  most  cruel  and 
barbarous  massacres,  and  inhuman  butcheries,  even  of  our  defenceless 
women  and  children,  and  to  commit  every  excess  of  savage  warfare — 
the  other,  animated  by  the  hope  of  a  further  resort  to  arms  and  their 
attendant  calamities,  for  injuries  received,  returned  forbearance. 


166  DETERMINATION    OF    THE    TEXIAN    GOVERNMENT. 

The  President  has  sought  to  abstain  from  the  effusion  of  blood,  and 
in  that  aim  has  uniformly  restrained  the  impetuosity  and  calmed  the 
excitement  of  his  countrymen,  so  often  aroused  by  a  course  of  con- 
duct which  violates  every  rite  both  private  and  national,  and  a  cruelty 
and  depravity  which  would  disgrace  the  darkest  ages  of  feudal  bar- 
barism. The  popular  impulse  might  have  been  turned  upon  the 
enemy,  on  their  own  soil.  The  result  might  have  proved  that  a  free 
people,  burning  with  vengeance  long  restrained,  could  levy  a  heavy 
retaliation. 

Such  being  the  character  of  hostile  operations  against  Texas,  on 
the  part  of  our  enemy,  which  being  plainly  violative  of  every  prin- 
ciple of  civilized  or  honorable  warfare,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  little 
calculated  to  achieve  the  professed  object  of  the  war — the  re-con- 
quest of  Texas,  the  President  confidently  hopes  the  Government 
of will  feel  not  only  justified,  but  even  called  upon,  to  inter- 
pose its  high  authority  and  arrest  their  course  of  proceedings,  and 
require  of  Mexico  either  the  recognition  of  the  Independence  of 
Texas,  or  to  make  war  upon  her  according  to  the  rules  established 
and  universally  recognized  by  civilized  nations.  If  Mexico  believes 
herself  able  to  re-subjugate  this  country,  her  right  to  make  the  effort 
to  do  so  is  not  denied,  for,  on  the  contrary,  if  she  choose  to  invade 
our  territory  with  that  purpose,  the  President,  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  all  Texas,  will  bid  her  welcome.  It  is  not  against  a  war 
with  Mexico  that  Texas  would  protest.  This  she  deprecates  not. 
She  is  willing  at  any  time  to  stake  her  existence  as  a  nation  upon  the 
issue  of  a  war  conducted  on  Christian  principles.  It  is  alone  against 
the  unholy,  inhuman,  and  fruitless  character  it  has  assumed,  and 
still  maintains,  which  violates  every  rule  of  honorable  warfare,  every 
precept  of  religion,  and  sets  at  defiance  even  the  common  sentiments 
of  humanity,  against  which  she  protests,  and  invokes  the  interposition 
of  those  powerful  nations  which  have  recognized  her  independence. 

The  Government  of  this  Republic  has  already  given  an  earnest  of 
its  disposition  to  consult  the  wishes  of  other  nations,  when  those 
wishes  do  not  conflict  with  the  general  interests  and  convenience  of 
the  country.  Fully  appreciating  the  friendly  sentiments  of  those 
Powers,  which  have  acknowledged  the  Independence  of  Texas,  and 
relying  much  upon  their  ability  and  influence  in  securing  an  early  and 
permanent  adjustment  of  our  difficulties  with  Mexico,  the  President, 
in  compliance  with  the  desire  of  those  Nations,  expressed  through 
their  Representatives  to  this  Government,  revoked  the  late  proclama- 


APPEAL  FOR  THE  INTERVENTION  OF  THE  GREAT  POWERS.  167 

tion  of  blockade  against  Mexico,  and  thus  removed  every  cause  of 
embarrassment  to  those  nations  in  their  intercourse  with  our  enemy. 
Having  thus  yielded  the  opportunity  of  retaliating  upon  our  enemy 
the  many  injuries  we  have  received  at  her  hands,  the  President  feels 
less  reluctance  in  making  this  representation,  and  invoking  the  inter- 
position of  those  nations  to  put  an  end  to  a  mode  of  warfare  at  once 
disgraceful  to  the  age,  so  evil  in  its  consequences  to  civil  society,  so 
revolting  to  every  precept  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  shocking  to 
every  sentiment  of  humanity. 

G.  W.  TERRELL, 
Attorney  General  and  Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

ANNEXATION FRENCH,  BRITISH,  AND  AMERICAN  CABINETS 

This  luminous  and  able  paper  unfolded  clearly  the  merits  of  the 
Texian  struggle,  and  it  received  the  profound  attention  of  the 
Cabinets  of  Washington,  London,  and  Paris.  The  leading  Jour- 
nals of  England  and  France,  borrowing  their  prejudices  and  their 
intelligence  about  Texian  affairs  from  powerful  and  widely  circu- 
lated American  Papers,  had  hitherto  regarded  the  people  of 
Texas  as  a  band  of  outlaws.  Scarcely  a  word  of  encourage- 
ment or  sympathy  had  been  uttered  by  their  ministers  to  the 
agents  of  Texas  in  Europe,  and  beyond  a  tardy  recognition  of 
her  independence,  they  hardly  ventured.  The  American  Press 
groaned  under  the  burden  of  calumnies  against  the  Texian  peo- 
ple and  their  bold  leader. 

Consequently,  this  appeal  was  received  and  read  wuth  surprise 
and  mortification.  They  saw  that  the  same  high  veneration  for 
justice — the  same  lofty  regard  for  national  honor,  and  the  same 
(if  not  a  nobler)  recognition  of  the  claims  of  humanity  and  Chris- 
tian principle  which  had  characterized  the  progress  and  the  in- 
tercourse of  those  great  kingdoms — inspired  the  councils  of  the 
man  who  had  given  freedom  to  his  outraged  country. 

We  have  been  told,  and  we  do  not  doubt  it,  that  both  of  those 
great  ministers,  who  guided  the  destinies  of  England,  declared, 
on  reading  this  appeal,  that  it  would  have  done  honor  to  the 
bravest  nation  and  most  enlightened  statesmen.  However  this 
may  have  been,  we  do  know,  from  the  archives  of  Texas,  that 
immediately  afterward  a  rivalry  began  between  the  French  and 
English  Cabinets,  for  the  cultivation  of  friendly  relations  with 
Texas.  Instructions  were  sent  to  the  ministers  of  those  nations 
accredited  to  the  Texian  Government,  to  allow  no  opportunity 
of  winning  the  regard  and  friendship  of  the  Republic  to  pass  un- 
improved. We  also  know,  too,  that  no  effort  which  vigilant 
ministers  could  put  forth,  and  no  motives  which  keen-sighted  di- 


VIGILANT    POLICY  OF  ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE.  169 

plomatists  could  press,  were  left  untried,  to  gain  for  their  Sove- 
reigns control  over  the  commerce  and  the  political  fortunes  of 
Texas.  They  saw  that  as  an  independent  power,  no  barriers 
could  be  interposed  to  her  ultimate  advancement ;  and  it  became 
a  matter  of  infmite  moment  to  France  and  England,  to  prevent 
the  final  union  of  Texas  with  the  United  States.  Hence,  those 
powers  watched  with  so  much  vigilance  and  alarm,  the  tendency 
of  affairs  towards  annexation.  Hence,  they  brought  into  requi- 
sition all  their  diplomatic,  commercial  and  financial  machinery  to 
prevent  what  they  clearly  foresaw  would  prove  so  detrimental  a 
blow  to  all  their  interests  in  the  New  World.  We  have  had  facili- 
ties for  knowing  something  of  these  movements,  and  we  venture  to 
say,  that  had  not  Houston  had  the  control  of  these  negotiations, 
and  had  he  not  been  a  man  whose  policy  neither  England  nor 
France  could  constrain  or  coerce  by  any  motives  of  personal  ag- 
grandizement— Texas  never  would  have  been  a  part  of  our 
confederacy,  and  those  great  powers  would  have  gained  a  foot- 
hold beyond  the  Sabine,  which  would  not  unlikely  have  trans- 
ferred to  their  hands  that  vast  empire  which  we  are  yet  to  wield 
towards  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 

The  very  moment  the  French  and  British  Cabinets  saw  the 
tendency  of  events,  they  increased  their  vigilance  just  in  pro- 
portion as  Texas  was  spurned  from  our  embraces.  But  while 
timidity  and  apprehensions  filled  the  minds  of  the  friends  of 
Texas  in  this  country,  and  Congress,  blinded  by  falsehood  and 
prejudice,  plied  by  threats  and  awed  by  clamor,  still  held  itselt 
aloof  from  all  legislation  on  the  subject,  Mr.  Tyler  and  his  cabi- 
net were  no  idle  spectators  of  the  advancing  drama.  That 
President,  whatever  may  have  been  the  wisdom  of  the  rest  of  his 
course,  pursued  in  the  aflfair  of  Texas  a  most  enlightened,  saga- 
cious, and  American  policy.  He  saw  the  vast  importance  of 
consummating  annexation  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and 
what  vigilance,  activity,  and  a  complete  understanding  of  the 
merits  of  the  question  could  accomplish,  was  done.  His  efforts 
were  at  last  successful.  And  although  his  reputation  as  a  states- 
man may  have  suffered,  and  he  may  have  paid  the  penalty  of 
having  in  many  things  proved  untrue  to  both  parties  as  well  as 


170 


INTERVENTION    OF    FRANCE    AND    ENGLAND. 


to  himself,  yet  all  these  things  will  be  in  a  great  measure  for- 
gotten, and  the  time  will  come  when  the  vast  consequences  of 
that  great  act,  whose  consummation  is  so  much  due  to  him, 
will  become  so  apparent  to  all  our  people,  that  his  name  will  be 
cherished  by  every  American.  Throughout  his  administration, 
he  was  true  to  his  policy  on  this  question.  Unawed  by  popular 
clamor,  and  unseduced  by  the  minions  who  pressed  around  his 
feet  (and  who  brought  the  eclipse  over  his  fame) ,  he  steadily  and 
firmly  pursued  his  noble  purpose. 

In  the  meantime  France  and  England  did  interfere,  and 
brought  about  an  armistice  between  Mexico  and  Texas.  The 
friendly  offices  of  our  cabinet  were  also  proffered,  but  they  had 
little  influence  with  Mexico.  The  negotiations  in  London  were 
conducted  with  consummate  ability  by  Mr.  Ashbel  Smith. 

In  a  despatch  from  the  Department  of  State  of  Texas,  to  Mr. 
Van  Zandt,  Charge  d'  Affaires  of  the  Republic  at  Washington, 
dated  July  6th,  1843,  that  functionary  was  thus  instructed : 
*'  The  United  States  having  taken  no  definite  action  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  there  now  being  an  increased  prospect  of  an  adjustment 
of  our  difficulties  with  Mexico,  the  President  deems  it  advisable 
to  take  no  further  action  at  present  in  reference  to  annexation, 
but  has  decided  to  await  the  issue  of  events  now  in  progress,  and 
to  postpone  that  subject  for  future  consideration,  and  for  such  ac- 
tion as  circumstances  may  hereafter  render  most  expedient  for 
the  interests  of  this  country." 

This  extract,  with  others  we  shall  presently  give,  will  unfold 
what  has  been  a  matter  of  so  much  dispute,  viz. : — the  policy  of 
Houston  on  this  important  subject.  Whatever  his  own  private 
feelings  may  have  been,  it  was  exceedingly  doubtful  whether 
our  Government  would  ever  consent  to  annexation  on  what  he 
considered  fair  and  equal  terms ;  and  he  was  resolved  to  main- 
tain with  France  and  England  the  most  friendly  relations ;  that 
in  the  event  of  Texas  being  spurned  from  the  embrace  of  the 
United  States,  she  might  fall  back  upon  a  Treaty  with  a  powerful 
ally,  under  whose  patronage  she  might  claim  protection  from  her 
foe,  and  under  whose  policy  (made  liberal  by  interest)  she 
might  advance  rapidly  to  power. 


MPORTANT    DESPATCH    OF    HOUSTON.  171 

The  French  and  English  ministers  resident  in  Texas,  had 
already  manifested  some  little  jealousy  on  the  subject  of  Hous- 
ton's negotiations  with  the  Washington  Cabinet,  and  seeing  little 
probability  of  consummating  a  treaty  of  annexation,  he  instructed 
Mr.  Van  Zandt  to  defer  all  further  action  for  the  time  beinsf. 

Accordingly,  instructions  were  forwarded  to  Mr.  Van  Zandt 
on  the  13th  of  December  (1843) .  The  following  extracts  will 
clearly  unfold  the  reasons  for  Houston's  policy. 

"  The  interposition  of  foreign  friendly  governments,  by  which  an  Ar- 
mistice has  been  established  between  Texas  and  Mexico,  and  the 
prospect  of  a  permanent  peace  with  that  power  given,  has  been  ex- 
tended by  the  particular  governments  mostly  influential  in  obtaining 
these  most  desirable  results  chiefly  with  a  view  that,  in  the  event  of 
Mexico's  agreeing  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  Texas,  she 
should  continue  to  exist  as  a  separate  and  independent  nation.  The 
great  object  and  desire  of  Texas  is  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
and  satisfactory  peace  witli  her  enemy,  and  for  this  purpose  the  good 
otfices  of  these  powers  have  been  asked  and  obtained,  and  the  object 
sought  for,  through  their  intervention,  appears  now  on  the  eve  of  be- 
ing realized. 

"  This  intervention  and  these  good  offices  have  been  gratui- 
tously and  unconditionally  given,  and  although  Texas  is  entirely  free 
to  pursue  any  course  she  may  please  in  future,  the  President  thinks 
that,  in  the  present  state  of  our  foreign  relations,  it  would  not  be  poli- 
tic to  abandon  the  expectations  which  now  exist  of  a  speedy  settle- 
ment of  our  difficulties  with  Mexico  through  the  good  offices  of  other 
powers,  for  the  very  uncertain  prospect  of  annexation  to  the  United 
States,  however  desirable  that  event,  if  it  could  be  consummated, 
might  be.  Were  Texas  to  agree  to  a  treaty  of  annexation,  the  good 
offices  of  these  pov.'ers  would,  it  is  believed,  be  immediately  withdrawn, 
and  were  the  treaty  then  to  fail  of  ratification  by  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  Texas  would  be  placed  in  a  much  worse  situation  than 
she  is  at  present,  nor  could  she  again  ask  or  hope  for  any  interposi- 
tion in  her  behalf,  either  by  England  or  France  ;  and  with  our  conse- 
quent supposed  dependence  upon  the  United  States,  might  again  re- 
turn the  apathy  and  indifference  towards  us  which  has  always  until 
now  characterized  that  government.  Texas  would  then  be  left  in 
the  same  situation  she  was  two  years  since,  without  a  friend,  and 
her  difficulties  with  Mexico  unsettled. 


172  INSTRUCTIONS    TO    SUSPEND  NEGOTIATIONS. 

"  This  government  is  duly  sensible  of  the  very  friendly  feelings 
evinced  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  the  offer  to  con- 
clude a  treaty  for  the  annexation  of  this  country,  but  from  all  the  in- 
formation which  he  has  been  able  to  obtain  in  relation  to  the  views 
and  feelings  of  the  people  of  tlje  United  States,  he  is  induced  to 
believe  that  its  approval  by  the  other  branches  of  that  govern- 
ment would  be,  if  not  refused,  at  least  of  very  uncertain  attainment 
at  this  particular  time — therefore,  and  until  such  an  expression  of 
their  opinion  can  be  obtained  as  would  render  this  measure  certain  of 
success,  the  President  deems  it  most  proper  and  most  advantageous  to 
the  interests  of  this  country,  to  decline  the  proposition  for  concluding 
a  treaty.  In  making  a  communication  of  this  determination  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  it  will  be  proper  to  inform  that  go- 
vernment that  whenever  the  Congress  or  Senate  of  the  United  States 
shall  throw  wide  open  the  door  to  annexation  by  a  resolution  author- 
izing the  President  of  that  country  to  propose  a  treaty  for  the  purpose, 
the  proposition  will  be  immediately  submitted  to  the  representatives 
of  the  people  of  this  country,  and  promptly  responded  to  on  the  part 
of  its  government. 

"  The  present  determination  of  the  President  on  this  subject,  does 
not  proceed  from  any  change  in  his  views  of  the  general  policy  of  the 
measure,  but  from  a  change  in  the  relations  of  this  country  with  other 
poicers.''^ 

These  instructions  to  suspend  negotiations  on  the  subject  of 
annexation,  with  a  knowledge  that  England  was  pressing  her 
powerful  and  friendly  offices  upon  the  Republic,  alarmed  the 
Cabinet  at  Washington.  The  facts  which  were  soon  after 
made  public  excited  the  apprehensions  also,  not  only  of  all  the 
friends  of  annexation,  but  of  all  those  Americans,  who  had  the 
foresight  to  anticipate  the  prejudicial  consequences  that  would 
come  upon  this  country  by  allowing  England  to  gain  a  foot- 
hold on  our  Southern  frontier.  She  had  always  proved  a  bad 
neighbor,  as  our  difficulties  growing  out  of  the  Norlh-Eastern 
and  Oregon  boundaries  had  abundantly  proved,  and  the  deep- 
est anxiety  was  everywhere  manifested  for  the  prompt  action 
of  Congress.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Tyler,  fearins^  the  result, 
had  instructed  his  Secretary  of  State  to  lose  no  opportunity  of 
assuring  the  Texian  government  of  his  earnest  desire  to  con- 
summate annexation. 


SECRET  MESSAGE  TO  THE  CONGRESS  OF  TEXAS.  173 

The  President  of  Texas  was  placed  in  a  position  of  ex- 
treme delicacy,  and  any  imprudent  act  or  movement  would 
have  proved  exceedingly  hazardous  to  the  interests  of  his 
country.  He  had  early  manifested  his  desire  for  annexation, 
and  done  all  he  could  to  effect  it  during  his  first  executive 
term.  Under  Mr.  Lamar's  administration,  the  question  had 
slept.  Houston  had  pursued  a  discreet  course  in  regard  to  it 
after  his  re-election,  and  although  he  had  now  been  for  some 
time  earnestly  occupied  in  securing  annexation,  he  had,  like  a 
wise  man,  kept  his  own  counsels. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1844,  however,  he  sent  a  secret 
message  to  Congress,  in  which  he  uses  the  following  lan- 
guage : 

"  Connected  with  our  present  condition,  our  foreign  relations  are 
becoming  daily  more  and  more  interesting ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  representatives  of  the  people  should  anticipate  the  events  which 
may  in  all  probability  occur.  ***** 

*  *  *  *  "  The  Executive,  therefore,  relies  upon  the 
deliberative  wisdom  and  decision  of  the  representatives  of  the  people 
to  give  him  all  the  aid  in  their  power  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  Texas 
to  such  an  issue  as  will  be  promotive  of  its  interests  as  a  community, 
and  at  the  same  time  gratifying  to  the  people.  Heretofore,  he  has 
carefully  abstained,  during  his  present  administration,  from  the  ex- 
pression of  any  opinion  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  annexation  to 
the  United  States.  And,  in  submitting  this  communication,  he  does 
not  think  it  becoming  in  him  now  to  express  any  preference. 

"  It  will  be  perceived  by  the  honorable  Congress,  that  if  any  effort 
were  made  on  the  part  of  this  Government  to  effect  the  object  of  an- 
nexation, which  is  so  desirable,  and  it  should  fail  of  meeting  responsive 
and  corresponding  action  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  it  might 
have  a  seriously  prejudicial  influence  upon  the  course  which  England 
and  France  might  otherwise  be  disposed  to  take  in  our  favor.  And  a 
failure  on  our  part,  after  a  decided  expression,  could  not  but  be  morti- 
fyinof  to  us,  and  to  a  great  extent  diminish  our  claims  to  the  confi- 
dence of  other  nations.  It  would  create  distrust  on  their  part  towards 
us  ;  because  the  opponents  of  our  interests  would  allege  there  was 
no  stability  in  our  purposes,  and  therefore  unsafe  in  other  nations  to 
cultivate  very  intimate  relations  with  us,  or  even  to  maintain  those 


174 


HOUSTON  S    SECRET    MESSAGE. 


which  now  so  fortunately  exist.  They  might  apprehend  that  after 
the  lapse  of  a  few  more  years,  Texas,  once  having  acquired  increased 
importance  from  their  friendly  aid  and  good  offices,  would  be  induced 
again,  by  the  agitation  of  the  same  question  in  the  United  States,  to 
apply  for  admission  into  that  Union,  and  that  by  possibility  it  might 
be  effected.  Hence  the  utmost  caution  and  secresy  on  our  part  as  to 
the  true  motives  of  our  policy  should  be  carefully  observed." 

He  recommends  that  in  the  event  of  the  failure  of  Texas, 
she  should  enter  into  "a  treaty  of  alliance,  defensive  at 
least,  if  not  offensive"  with  the  United  States. 

"  If  nothing  else,"  says  he,  "  were  effected  in  a  treaty  for  defence, 
it  would  secure  to  Texas  a  position  that  would  for  ever  bid  defiance  to 
our  Mexican  enemy.  It  would  be  as  important  to  us  in  fact  as  the 
recognition  of  our  independence  by  Mexico." 

He  also  proposes  the  appointment  of  "  an  additional  agent 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  to  co-operate  with 
our  agent  there."     He  thus  concludes  : 

"  If  the  honorable  Congress  should  think  well  of  these  suggestions, 
they  will  be  aware  of  the  propriety  of  immediate  action  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  Congress  of  the  United  States  have  now  been  in  session 
some  time,  and  there  can  be  but  little  doubtthat  if  they  have  not  al- 
ready done  so,  they  will  soon  indicate  their  disposition,  and  course  of 
policy  towards  this  country. 

"  Believing  as  the  Executive  did,  at  the  commencement  of  the  pre- 
sent session,  that  the  subject  of  annexation  was  in  the  best  position 
in  which  Texas  could  place  it,  he  did  not  allude  to  it  in  his  general 
message— apprehending  that  any  public  action  taken  either  by  the 
Executive  or  the  Congress  would  only  have  a  tendency  to  embarrass 
the  subject.  Action  must  now  be  taken  by  the  United  Slates  ;  and 
we  must  now  watch  and  meet  their  disposition  towards  us. 

"  If  we  evince  too  much  anxiety,  it  will  be  regarded  as  importu- 
nity, and  the  voice  of  supplication  seldom  commands  great  respect." 

The  spirit  of  this  message  inspired  all  Houston's  acts  on 
this  great  question,  and  the  effect  was  most  salutary.  For  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  our  Congress  would  have  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  "  the  voice  of  supplication,"  had  they  not  discovered 
that  the  people  of  Texas,  grown  weary  of  delays  and  indignant 


OLD  ENGLAND  BY  THE  SIDE  OP  TEXAS.        175 

at  repeated  repulses,  would  supplicate  no  longer.  The  posi- 
tion of  parties  was  suddenly  changed — completely  reversed. 
It  became  clearer  than  noon-day,  that  unless  Texas  was  al- 
lowed to  come  into  our  Union,  under  auspices  the  most  favor- 
able to  her,  she  would  not  enter,  and  in  any  event  it  seemed 
probable  that  she  was  after  all  to  be  the  sufferer.  Her  anxiety, 
therefore,  for  annexation,  was  every  hour  growing  less,  while 
ours  was  increasing. 

Both  parties  were  conscious  of  the  movements  of  England 
— and  while  Texas  saw  in  the  extension  of  that  proud  shield 
over  her  young  Republic,  the  boon  of  mighty  protection,  we 
watched  with  jealous  and  anxious  interest  the  progress  of  that 
same  imperial  emblem.  When,  therefore,  that  Republic, 
whose  people,  "  bone  of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,"  had 
been  pleading  on  their  knees  the  same  admission  which  had 
hitherto  been  cordially  tendered  by  Congress  to  every  other 
American  colony  on  the  continent,  was  repulsed  "like  some 
stranger,"  she  sprung  to  her  feet,  and  the  next  moment  we 
saw  her  youthful  figure  relieved  against  the  giant  form  of 
Old  England,  whose  purple  mantle  was  thrown  kindly  over  her 
shoulder,  and  whose  flag  of  St.  George  was  waving  over  her 
head.  It  was  a  strange,  but  beautiful  spectacle.  "  Is  that," 
said  all,  "  the  suppliant  who  so  lately  was  kneeling  on  the 
steps  of  our  Capitol  ?" 

Texas  was  now  lost  to  America.  The  only  question  was, 
"  Can  she  be  again  won  ?"  and  the  American  Congress  was 
no  longer  the  sole  party  to  answer  the  inquiry. 

The  Cabinet  at  Washington  manifested  an  anxiety  to  re- 
new negotiations.  In  his  letter  to  Mr.  Van  Zandt  (29th  Jan., 
1844),  Houston  instructs  his  Minister  to  meet  the  United  States 
half  way,  and  to  inform  him  of  any  disposition  on  their  part 
to  come  to  the  terms  they  had  rejected.  "  They  must  be  con- 
vinced," says  he,  "  that  England  has  rendered  most  important 
service  to  Texas  by  her  mediatorial  influence  with  Mexico." 
He  then  proceeds : 

"  If  the  United  States  really  intend  to  deprive  England  of  connec- 
tions on  this  continent,  a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive. 


176  NEGOTIATIONS    AGAIN    OPENED. 

formed  with  this  country  against  Mexico,  would  enable  that  govern- 
ment to  retain  an  influence  in  the  affairs  of  Texas  which  could  be  done 
by  no  other  circumstance.  In  November,  1S42,  when  Texas  protested 
to  the  three  Great  Powers  against  the  course  pursued  by  Mexico  in  her 
war  with  this  country,  it  was  understood  the  three  Powers  were  to  act  in 
harmony,  so  far  as  any  mediation  was  to  be  interposed.  From  some  cir- 
cumstances, England  appears  to  have  been  most  active  and  eflBcient  in 
her  efforts.  The  United  States,  from  their  contiguity  in  situation, 
had  greater  facilities  than  England  at  their  command,  and  had  they 
been  as  forward  in  their  efforts  at  mediation  as  England,  it  would  have 
been  more  grateful  to  the  citizens  of  Texas.  A  moment's  reflection 
will  present  many  reasons  why  it  should  have  been  so.  When  an  in- 
dividual is  overwhelmed  by  misfortune,  and  that  misfortune  is  light- 
ened or  relieved,  the  beneficiary  always  feels  grateful  for  the  benefits 
conferred  ;  and  in  the  event  of  a  recurrence,  would  naturally  look  to 
the  same  source  for  a  renewal  of  favor.  Thus  must  it  be  with  na- 
tions, and  it  requires  no  argument  to  convince  the  United  States,  that 
in  submitting  the  first  proposition  for  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  them, 
the  authorities  of  Texas  are  far  from  pretermitting  any  just  claims 
which  they  may  have  to  the  confidence  of  Texas  as  a  nation,  but  the 
reverse. 

"  It  is  true  that  our  eyes  were  directed  to  the  United  States,  not 
only  as  a  people  but  as  a  government,  to  which  Texas  was  most  wil- 
ling to  feel  herself  obligated.  If  we  did  not  realize  all  our  expecta- 
tions, we  are  far  from  concluding  that  anything  left  unaccomplished 
by  her  arose  from  hostility  to  Texas  on  her  part ;  and  for  that,  among 
other  reasons,  we  propose  an  alliance  as  an  earnest  of  the  confidence 
we  are  still  willing  to  place  upon  them  and  their  efforts." 

Negotiations  were  now  once  more  commenced  in  earnest, 
and  the  two  Ministers  of  Texas  (Mr.  Van  Zandt,  and  Gen. 
Henderson,  now  Governor  of  Texas),  represented  their  coun- 
try with  great  ability,  and  won  for  themselves  universal  re- 
spect. 

In  the  despatch  of  Houston  to  Mr.  Van  Zandt  (P^eb.  15, 
1844),  informino;  him  of  the  investment  of  Gen.  Henderson  (just 
appointed)  and  himself,  "  with  proper  powers  to  conclude  the 
subject  of  annexation  as  far  as  it  can  be  consummated  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  and  our  Ministers,"  the  Presi- 


THE    CONSEQUENCES  OF   ANNEXATION.  177 

dent  thus  speaks  of  the  vast  consequences  of  annexation,  if  it 
should  be  effected. 

"  It  would  be  useless  for  me  to  attempt  to  portray  to  you  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  consequences  which  are  to  grow  out  of  these  transac- 
tions. Millions  will  realize  the  benetits  ;  but  it  is  not  within  the 
compass  of  mortal  expression  to  estimate  the  advantages  to  mankind. 
The  measures  of  this  Government  have  not  been  devised  without  due 
consideration  of  the  subject,  so  far  as  Texas  may  be  affected  by  it ; 
and  no  matter  how  great  the  ultimate  advantages  to  the  two  countries 
may  have  been  considered,  in  the  event  of  annexation,  it  was  the  mani- 
fest duty  of  this  Government  to  use  such  precaution  as  would  secure 
it  against  any  accidental  catastrophe.  It  is  now  in  possession  of  such 
assurances  from  the  United  States  as  will  hazard  the  die." 

In  another  dispatch,  dated  the  29th  of  April,  1844,  we  find 
the  following  language  : — 

"  I  have  felt,  and  yet  feel,  great  solicitude  for  our  fate.  The  crisis 
to  Texas  is  everything.  To  the  United  States  it  is  worth  its  union. 
My  toil  has  constantly  been  for  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  man- 
kind, and  if  we  are  annexed,  I  hope  we  shall  have  accomplished 
much  ;  but  if  from  any  cause  we  should  be  rejected  we  must  redouble 
our  energies,  and  the  accompanying  duplicate  will  express  to  you 
decisively  what  my  purposes  are.  Texas  can  become  sovereign  and 
independent,  established  upon  her  own  incalculable  advantages  of 
situation,  and  sustained  by  European  influences,  without  the  slightest 
compromiltal  of  her  nationality.  If  the  present  measure  of  annexa- 
tion should  fail  entirely,  and  we  are  to  be  thrown  back  upon  our  own 
resources,  fix  your  eye  steadily  on  the  salvation  of  Texas,  and  pursue 
the  course  which  I  have  indicated.  I  again  declare  to  you,  that  every 
day  which  passes  only  convinces  me  more  clearly  that  it  is  the  last 
effort  at  annexation  that  Texas  will  ever  make ;  nor  do  I  believe 
that  any  solicitation  or  guarantee  from  the  United  States  would,  at 
any  future  day,  induce  her  to  consent  to  the  measure." 

But  the  Mission  of  General  Henderson  seemed  likely  to  se- 
cure no  good  results,  and  in  a  dispatch  of  May  17th,  1844,  he 
was  advised  to  return.     The  President  says : — 

"  Whatever  the  desires  of  this  Government,  or  the  people,  are,  or 
might  have  been,  in  relation  to  Annexation,  I  am  satisfied  they  are 
not  ambitious,  at  this  time,  nor  will  ever  be  again,  to  be  seen  in  the 
12 


178  THE    POSITION    OF    THE    TWO    COUNTRIES. 

attitude  of  a  bone  of  contention,  to  be  worried  or  gnawed  by  conflict- 
ing politicians.  The  views  of  the  Executive  of  this  country,  as  well 
as  the  viev/s  of  its  citizens,  were  fairly  presented  in  a  willingness  to 
become  annexed  to  the  United  States.  And  though  the  advantages 
presented  to  the  United  States  were  incalculably  greater  than  those 
resultin<y  to   Texas,   she   was   willing  to  stand   the  hazard  of   the 

adventure. 

"  The  statesmen  of  that  country  appear  to  be  united  in  opinion 
adverse  to  our  admission  into  the  Union  of  the  North.  We  must, 
therefore,  regard  ourselves  as  a  nation,  to  Tema.\n  for  ever  separate. 
It  would  be  unpleasant  for  us  to  enter  into  a  community,  as  a  mem- 
ber, where  we  should  be  regarded  ungraciously  by  either  of  the  po- 
litical parties.  Texas,  alone,  can  well  be  sustained,  and  no  matter 
what  sincere  desire  we  may  have  entertained  for  a  connection  with 
that  Government,  and  the  affectionate  enthusiasm  that  has  existed  in 
this  towards  it,  we  will  be  compelled  to  reconcile  ourselves  to  our 
present  condition,  or  to  assume  such  an  attitude  towards  other  coun- 
tries as  will  certainly  look  to  our  independence.  This  can  be  accom- 
plished, if  the  United  States  will  carry  out  the  pledges  which  they 
have  already  given.  The  compromittal  of  our  national  honor  i 
cannot  contemplate,  nor  would  I  entertain  any  proposition  which 
could  be  averse  to  our  character  as  an  independent  nation  ;  but  Texas 
can  now  command  interests  which  will  require  no  such  sacrifice.  We 
must  act !  !  *  *  It  would  seem,  from  the  complexion  of  matters  at 
Washington,  that  General  Henderson's  remaining  there  longer  would 
be  unnecessary.  As  indicated  in  my  last  communication,  negotiations 
can  be  very  well  conducted  at  this  Government,  not  designing  to  cast 
any  reflections  upon  the  representatives  of  this  Government  at  Wash- 
ington, in  whom  the  Executive  has  the  highest  confidence.  Mo- 
ments of  leisure  could  be  employed  here,  and  even  hours  and  days 
commanded,  which  is  not  permitted  when  urgent  despatches  arrive. 
The  locality  of  our  seat  of  Government  is  such,  that  the  Executive 
has  had  to  sul  stitute  himself  in  correspondence  for  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  dispense  with  the  services  of  that  valuable  ofiicer,  for  the 
sake  of  dispatch.  *  *  The  measure  of  Annexation  having  been 
taken  up  at  the  instance  of  the  United  Stales,  ought  to  secure  Texas, 
and  fortify  her  against  all  inconveniences  arising  from  having  opened 
negotiations  on  that  subject.  The  treaty  having  been  signed  and 
submitted  to  the  Senate,  is  all  that  can  be  performed  on  the  part  of 
Texas.     Further  solicitation,  on  her  part,  would  present  her  as  an 


Houston's  real  feelings  about  annexation.       179 

object  of  commiseration  to  the  civilized  world.  If  the  embarrass- 
ments of  our  condition  have  presented  us  in  a  humiliating  posture,  it 
furnishes  no  excuse  to  us  for  voluntary  degradation. 

"  Therefore  it  is,  that  my  purpose  is  fixed  in  relation  to  the  subject 
of  which  I  have  treated.  The  desires  of  the  people  of  Texas, 
WITH  MY  love  of  REPOSE  (thus  far  I  am  selfish),  had  deteb.mined 

ME  IN  FAVOR  OF  ANNEXATION.  My  JUDGMENT,  THOUGH  RENDERED 
SUBSERVIENT  TO  THEIR  INCLINATIONS  AND  MY  OWN,  HAS  NEVER  FULLY 
RATIFIED  THE  COURSE  ADOPTED.  YeT,  IN  ALL  GOOD  FAITH,  I  HAVE 
LENT   AND   AFFORDED    EVERY    AID    TO    ITS    CONSUMMATION." 

We  shall  now  close  our  extracts  from  Houston's  Des- 
patches by  giving  a  portion  of  a  very  important  private  letter 
to  Mr.  Murphy,  the  American  Minister  to  the  Texian  Govern- 
ment. We  have  nowhere  seen  the  same  views  expressed  in 
regard  to  the  future  destiny  of  Texas.  The  letter  shows, 
beyond  a  question,  that  the  writer  was  persuaded  that  Texas, 
even  if  she  was  compelled  to  stand  alone,  had  no  mean  des- 
tiny awaiting  her  in  the  future.  The  views  here  given  are 
those  of  a  statesman — of  one  who  knew  the  history  of  his 
nation  and  the  character  of  her  people — of  a  patriot,  who 
never  despaired  for  his  country,  before  whose  altars  he  had 
consecrated  himself  for  ever: 

*  *  The  times  are  big;  with  comingr  events  to  Texas  and  the 
world.  I  feel  that  matters  now  transacting  are,  if  carried  out,  to 
perpetuate  the  union  of  the  States,  by  the  Annexation  of  Texas,  for 
centuries.  If  this  great  measure  fails,  the  Union  will  be  endangered ; 
its  revenues  diminished  ;  and  a  European  influence  will  grow  up  in 
Texas,  from  our  necessities  and  interests,  that  will  most  effectually 
prejudice  the  interests  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  they  are  to 
look  for  the  sale  of  their  fabrics  in  the  southern  section  of  this  con- 
tinent, and  a  forfeiture  of  our  sympathies.  Mexico,  in  a  short  time, 
by  the  influences  which  Texas  can  command,  will  yield  everything 
to  the  superior  energy,  activity,  and  the  employment  of  well-directed 
capital,  which  will  flow  into  us  from  Europe,  and  render  us  the  bene- 
ficiaries of  a  most  important  and  extensive  trade.  All  our  ports  will 
soon  become  great  commercial  marts  ;    and  places,  now  scarcely 


180  THE    CRISIS    OF    ANNEXATION. 

noticed   upon  our  maps,  will  be  built  up,  and  grow  into  splendid 
cities. 

These  are  but  few  of  the  advantages  which  are  noticed;  but 
these,  to  the  statesmen  of  the  United  States,  ought  to  cause  ceaseless 
efforts  to  secure  so  rich  a  prize. 

The  present  moment  is  the  only  one  that  the  United  States  will 
ever  enjoy  to  annex  Texas.  I  am  intensely  solicitous  to  see  the 
matter  consummated,  and  my  country  at  rest.  'Tis  true  that  we  are 
not  to  be  great  gainers,  when  compared  to  the  United  States,  in  what 
they  derive.  Had  I  been  at  Washington,  I  would,  most  certainly, 
not  have  made  a  treaty  so  indefinite  as  to  individual  rights  which 
may  arise,  and  be  involved  in  the  subject  of  annexation.  We  sur- 
render everything,  and  in  reality  get  nothing  but  protection — and  that 
at  the  hazard  of  being  invaded  or  annoyed  by  Mexico  before  any 
aid  could  be  rendered  by  the  United  States.  I  hope  that  the  pre- 
cautions taken  will  be  such  as  to  deter  Mexico  from  any  attempt 
upon  us. 

The  fact,  that  the  United  States  is  one  of  the  rival  powers  of  the 

world,  will  render  that  nation  more  liable  to  war  than  we  would  be 

as  a  minor  power.     There  are  a  thousand  reasons  which  I  could 

urge,  why  Texas  would  be   more  secure  from  trouble  if  she   could 

have  present  peace, — which  she  can  obtain  readily  if   she   is  not 

annexed.     When  we  once  become  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  United 

States  we  are  subject  to  all  their  vicissitudes.     Their  commercial 

relations  are  extensive,  which  subjects  them  to  jealousy   and  the 

rivalry  of  other  powers,  who  will  seek  to  overreach  them,  and  cramp 

them  by  restrictions,  or  annoy  them  by  interference.     They  will  not 

be  willing  to  submit  to  these  things,  and  the  consequences  will  be 

war.     Nor  will  this  danger  arise  from  any  one  power  of  the  earth, 

but  from  various  nations.     The  wealth  of  European  nations  depends 

more  upon  their  labor,  than  the  people  of  this  continent.     We  look 

to  the  soil — they  to  their  manufacturing  capacity,  for  the  means  of 

life  as  well  as  wealth.     These  facts  are  not  all ;  and,  indeed,  but  a 

very  partial  notice  of  important  affairs.     The  political  relations  of 


CONSEQUENCES    OF    ITS    FAILURE.  181 

the  United  Slates  will  increase,  and  become  more  complicated  and 
extensive  with  their  increase  of  power.  Not  only  this,  but  they, 
too,  will  grow  arrogant ;  and  it  will  not  be  a  half  century,  if  the 
Union  should  last,  until  they  will  feel  a  strong  inclination  to  possess, 
by  force,  that  which  they  at  the  present  would  be  willing  to  make  a 
subject  of  negotiation  and  treaty. 

In  all  contingencies,  if  we  are  annexed,  we  have  to  bear  a  part  of 
their  troubles — no  matter  of  what  character.  Alone  and  Indepen- 
dent, Texas  would  be  enabled  to  stand  aloof  from  all  matters  uncon- 
nected with  her  existence  as  a  nation  ;  while  the  causes  of  war  to 
the  United  States  would  be  a  source  of  benefit  and  prosperity  to  her. 
War  could  grow  up  between  no  power  and  the  United  States,  but  what 
Texas  would  be  the  beneficiary.  The  value  of  her  staples  would  be 
enhanced,  and  that  arising  from  the  influence  of  war  upon  the  United 
States.  Texas,  enjoying  as  she  does  a  situation  on  the  Gulf,  and  a 
neutral  attitude,  would  derive  the  greatest  possible  benefits.  Ca- 
lamity to  other  nations,  would  be  wealth  and  power  to  Texas.  The 
encouragement  given  us  by  the  demand  for  our  staples  would  increase 
our  individual,  as  well  as  our  national  wealth.  The  fleets  of  bel- 
ligerents would  be  supplied  with  meats  from  our  natural  pastures ; 
and  the  sale  of  our  superabundant  herds  would,  when  added  to  the 
sale  of  our  other  commodities,  give  us  more  wealth  than  any  other 
nation,  in  comparison  to  our  population. 

Apart  from  this,  if  we  should  not  be  annexed,  all  the  European 
nations  would  introduce  with  alacrity  vast  numbers  of  emigrants,  be- 
cause it  would  enable  them  to  extend  their  commerce.  Those  who 
migrate  from  the  different  nations  to  Texas  will  retain  predilections, 
for  many  years,  in  favor  of  the  partialities  which  nativity  carries  with 
it  in  after  life. 

That  France  and  England  will  pour  into  our  country  vast  numbers 
of  industrious  citizens,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Belgium,  Holland, 
and  other  countries,  will  not  be  remiss  in  their  duty  to  ulterior  con- 
sequences. All  these  countries  have  an  excess  of  population,  and 
the  common  policy  and  economy  of  nations  are  such,  that  they  will 


182  DESTINY    OF    TEXAS    LEFT    TO    HERSELF. 

have  a  care  to  the  location  of  those  who  leave  their  native  countries. 
Never,  to  my  apprehension,  have  all  nations  evinced  the  same  dispo- 
sition to  commerce  as  that  which  is  now  exercised  and  entertained. 
Hence,  no  time  has  ever  been  so  propitious  for  the  upbuilding  of  a 
nation  possessed  of  our  advantages,  as  that  which  Texas  at  this 
moment  enjoys,  in  the  event  that  the  measure  of  annexation  should 
fail.  Its  failure  can  only  result  from  selfishness  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  or  Congress  of  the  United  States.  If  faction,  or  a 
regard  to  present  party  advantages,  should  defeat  the  measure,  you 
may  depend  upon  one  thing — and  that  is,  that  the  glory  of  the 
United  States  has  already  culminated.  A  rival  power  will  soon  be 
built  up,  and  the  Pacific,  as  well  as  the  Atlantic,  will  be  component 
parts  of  Texas,  in  thirty  years  from  this  date. 

The  Oregon  region,  in  geographical  affinity,  will  attach  to  Texas. 
By  this  coalition,  or  union,  the  barrier  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  will 
be  dispensed  with  or  obviated.  England  and  France,  in  anticipation 
of  such  an  event,  would  not  be  so  tenacious  on  the  subject  of  Oregon, 
as  if  the  United  States  were  to  be  the  sole  possessors  of  it.  When 
such  an  event  would  take  place,  or  in  anticipation  of  such  a  result, 
all  the  powers,  which  either  envy  or  fear  the  United  States,  would 
use  all  reasonable  exertions  to  build  us  up,  as  the  only  rival  jwwer 
which  can  exist  on  this  continent  to  that  of  the  United  States.  Con- 
sidering our  origin,  these  speculations  may  seem  chimerical,  and  that 
such  things  cannot  take  place.  A  common  origin  has  its  influence 
so  long  as  a  common  interest  exists,  and  no  longer.  Sentiment  tells 
well  in  love  matters  or  in  a  speech  ;  but  in  the  affairs  and  transactions 
of  nations  there  is  no  sentiment  or  feeling  but  one,  and  that  is  essen- 
tially selfish. 

I  regard  nations  as  corporations  on  a  large  and  sometimes  magnifi- 
cent scale,  but  no  more  than  this  ;  consequently,  they  have  no  soul, 
and  recognize  no  Mentor  but  interest. 

Texas,  once  set  apart  and  rejected  by  the  United  States,  would 
feel  that  she  was  of  humble  origin  ;  and  if  a  prospect  was  once  pre- 
sented to  her  of  becoming  a  rival  to  the  United  States,  it  would  only 


THE    GREAT    SOUTH-WESTERN    REPUBLIC.  183 

stimulate  her  to  feelings  of  emulation  ;  and  it  would  be  her  least 
consideration,  that,  by  her  growth  to  power,  she  would  overcome 
the  humility  of  her  early  condition.  So  the  very  causes  which  now 
operate  with  Texas,  and  incline  her  to  annexation,  may,  at  some 
future  period,  give  origin  to  the  most  active  and  powerful  animosity 
between  the  two  countries.  This,  too,  we  must  look  at,  for  it  will 
be  the  case.  Whenever  difficulties  arise  between  the  United  States 
and  Texas,  if  they  are  to  remain  two  distinct  nations,  the  Powers 
of  Europe  will  not  look  upon  our  affairs  with  indifference ;  and  no 
matter  what  their  professions  may  be  of  neutrality,  they  can  always 
find  means  of  evasion.  The  union  of  Oregon  and  Texas  will  be  much 
more  natural  and  convenient  than  for  either,  separately,  to  belong  to 
the  United  States.  This,  too,  would  place  Mexico  at  the  mercy  of 
such  a  power  as  Oregon  and  Texas  would  form.  Such  an  event 
may  appear  fanciful  to  many,  but  I  assure  you  there  are  no  Rocky 
Mountains  interposing  to  such  a  project.  But  one  thing  can  prevent 
its  accomplishment,  and  that  is  annexation. 

If  you,  or  any  Statesman,  will  only  regard  the  map  of  North  Ame- 
rica, you  will  perceive  that,  from  the  46th  degree  of  latitude  North, 
there  is  the  commencement  of  a  natural  boundary.  This  will  em- 
brace the  Oregon,  and  from  thence  south  on  the  Pacific  coast,  to  the 
29th  or  30th  degree  of  south  latitude,  will  be  a  natural  and  conve- 
nient extent  of  sea-board. 

I  am  free  to  admit,  that  most  of  the  Provinces  of  Chihuahua, 
Sonora,  and  the  Upper  and  Lower  Californias,  as  well  as  Santa  Fe, 
which  we  now  claim,  will  have  to  be  brought  into  the  connection  of 
Texas  and  Oregon.  This,  you  will  see  by  reference  to  the  map,  is 
no  bugbear  to  those  who  will  reflect  upon  the  achievements  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people.  What  have  they  ever  attempted,  and  recoiled 
from,  in  submission  to  defeat  ?  Nothing,  I  would  answer.  Population 
would  be  all  that  would  be  needful,  for,  with  it,  resources  would  be 
afforded  for  the  accomplishment  of  any  enterprise.  As  to  the  propo- 
sition, that  the  Provinces  of  Mexico  would  have  to  be  overrun,  there 


184      A  POWER  BEYOND  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

is  nothing  in  this  ;  for  you  may  rely  upon  the  fact,  that  the  Mexicans 
only  require  kind  and  humane  masters  to  make  them  a  happy  peo- 
ple, and  secure  them  against  the  savage  hordes  who  harass  them 
constantly,  and  bear  their  women  and  children  into  bondage.  Secure 
them  from  these  calamities,  and  they  would  bless  any  power  that 
would  srant  them  such  a  boon. 

The  Rocky  Mountains  interposing  between  Missouri  and  Oregon 
will  very  naturally  separate  them  from  the  United  States,  when  they 
see  the  advantages  arising  from  a  connection  with  another  nation  of 
the  same  language  and  habits  with  themselves.  The  line  of  Texas 
running  with  the  Arkansas,  and  extending  to  the  great  desert,  would 
mark  a  natural  boundary  between  Texas,  or  a  new  and  vast  Republic 
to  the  Southwest.  If  this  ever  take  place,  you  may  rely  upon  one 
thing,  which  is  this,  that  a  nation,  embracing  the  advantages  of  the 
extent  of  seventeen  degrees  on  the  Pacific,  and  so  extensive  a  front 
on  the  Atlantic  as  Texas  does,  will  not  be  less  than  a  rival  power  to 
any  of  the  nations  now  in  existence. 

You  need  not  estimate  the  population,  which  is  said,  or  reputed,  to 
occupy  the  vast  Territory  embraced  between  the  29th  and  46th  de- 
grees of  latitude  on  the  Pacific.  They  will,  like  the  Indian  race, 
yield  to  the  advance  of  the  North  American  population.  The  amal- 
gamation, under  the  guidance  of  statesmen,  cannot  fail  to  produce 
the  result,  in  creating  a  united  Government,  formed  of,  and  embracing 
the  limits  suggested. 

It  may  be  urged,  that  these  matters  are  remote.  Be  it  so.  States- 
men are  intended  by  their  forecast  to  regulate  and  arrange  matters  in 
such  sort  as  will  give  direction  to  events  by  which  the  future  is  to  be 
benefited  or  prejudiced. 

You  may  freely  rely,  my  friend,  that  future  ages  will  profit  b}' 
these  facts,  while  we  will  only  contemplate  them  in  perspective. 
They  must  come.  It  is  impossible  to  look  upon  the  map  of  North 
America,  and  not  perceive  the  rationale  of  the  project.  Men  may 
laugh  at  these  suggestions ;  but  when  we  are  withdrawn  from  all  the 


CLOSE    OF    THE    LETTER.  185 

petty  influences  which  now  exist,  these  matters  will  assume  the 
most  grave  and  solemn  national  import. 

I  do  not  care  to  be  in  any  way  identified  with  them.  They  are  the 
results  of  destiny,  over  which  I  have  no  control. 

If  the  Treaty  is  not  ratified,  I  will  require  all  future  negotiations  to 
be  transferred  to  Texas.     *     * 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

RETIREMENT. — HOUSTON'S    CHARACTER. 

Such  was  the  destiny  which,  to  the  keen  vision  of  Houston, 
awaited  Texas  if  she  remained  a  Sovereign  Nation. 

The  extracts  we  have  given  from  his  despatches  put  the 
question  of  his  policy  and  his  preferences,  in  regard  to  annexa- 
tion, at  rest  for  ever.  He  was,  up  to  the  last  moment,  in  favor 
of  that  great  measure. 

He  favored  it,  because  it  would  secure  immediate  peace  to 
his  fellow  citizens,  and  protection  from  a  perfidious  and  bar- 
barous foe. 

He  favored  it,  because  it  would  settle  the  affairs  and  esta- 
blish the  tranquillity  of  the  Republic,  and  enable  him  to  with- 
draw from  the  turbulent  scenes  of  political  life,  and  enjoy  the 
repose  of  retirement,  after  his  long  and  ceaseless  labors. 

He  favored  it,  because  it  would  bind  the  people  of  Texas 
firmly  to  the  great  Federal  Family  of  Washington,  and  link 
their  fortunes  to  the  American  Republic. 

He  favored  it,  because,  like  all  the  true  and  all  the  patriotic 
of  his  country,  he  felt  an  earnest  longing  to  return  to  the  family 
hearth-stone,  where  the  great  Patriarchs  of  the  Revolution  had 
gathered,  and  unite  with  twenty  millions  of  his  brethren  in  burn- 
ing incense  to  the  Genius  of  Liberty  around  its  holy  altars. 

He  favored  it,  because  he  saw  that  it  would  narrow  the  field 
of  many  petty  ambitious  men,  whose  struggles  for  power 
might  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  Texas,  and  impede  her  ad- 
vancement. 

He  favored  it,  because  he  felt  he  had  himself  achieved  his 
work  on  the  field  and  in  the  Cabinet,  and  although  he  was 
beloved  by  the  people,  and  could  always  have  been,  in  one 
form  or  another,  their  Leader,  yet  he  had  no  more  ambition  to 
gratify.  He  believed,  too,  that  his  beloved  country  would  find 
under  our  broad  shield  the  same  repose  from  her  alarms  and 


ANNEXATION    AT    LAST    CONSUMMATED.  187 

her  troubles,  that  he  himself  looked  forward  to  in  the  quiet  of 
his  Prairie  Home.  And  yet  his  despatches  show  that  he  was 
prepared  for  any  result.  He  had  his  eye  fixed  on  the  future, 
and  if  American  Statesmen  were  resolved  Texas  never  should 
mingle  her  fortunes  with  us,  he  also  was  determined  to  watch 
over  her  career  and  guide  her  to  a  nobler  destiny. 

Up  to  the  very  moment  the  decision  was  made  by  the  Ameri- 
can Senate,  he  held  the  question  of  annexation  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand.  And  when,  at  the  eleventh  hour,  we  grudgingly 
opened  the  doors  to  let  the  light  of  the  single  Star  shine  into  our 
Temple,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt,  that  if  Houston  had 
resented  the  tardy  offer,  it  would  have  been  proudly  and  scorn- 
fully hurled  back  by  the  people  of  Texas.  He  was  not  then 
President,  actually — but  in  or  out  of  office  he  was  still  their 
Leader,  the  Counsellor  of  his  country.  His  last  term  ex- 
pired just  before  annexation  was  passed,  and  the  Constitution 
would  not  allow  him  to  be  President  again.  But  his  own  con- 
fidential friend,  his  Secretary  of  State,  his  adviser  and  his  sup- 
porter, was  chosen  to  follow  him,  and  it  was  everywhere  under- 
stood that  Houston's  policy  was  still  followed — his  feeling  still 
consulted — and  his  voice  still  heard. 

Great  apprehensions  were  felt  by  the  friends  of  Texas  in 
this  country  about  the  course  Houston  would  finally  pursue— 
for  it  was  believed  that  he  would  carry  the  people  of  that  Re- 
public with  him  in  his  decision.  The  time  at  last  came, — 
Houston  gave  his  support  to  Annexation,  and  by  an  over- 
whelming majority  Texas  became  one  of  the  Sovereign  States 
of  the  American  Republic. 

Henceforth,  for  weal  or  woe,  her  fortunes  were  mingled 
with  the  fortunes  of  the  United  States.  Whether  she  will 
regret  it,  is  yet  to  be  seen.  She  most  certainly  will  rue 
the  day  she  ever  sought  refuge  under  our  protection,  unless  she 
is  allowed  to  occupy  a  high  and  honorable  place  in  our  Con- 
federacy. She  is  no  outlaw,  she  is  no  menial — nor  will  she 
be  treated  as  either.  With  the  richest  soil  and  vast  natural 
resources — with  a  wide  territory  which  stretches  from  the  sea, 
where  it  blushes  under  a  tropical  sun,  to  the  North  where  it 


188 


AMERICAN    FEELING    TOWARDS    TEXAS. 


whitens  with  the  eternal  snow  of  the  mountains — with  a  cli- 
mate as  balmy  as  the  lands  which  are  bathed  by  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Mediterranean — and,  above  all,  with  an  inge- 
nious, enterprising,  and  heroic  people,  she  must  become  the 
garden  of  ihe  New  World.  Let  it  be  the  pride  of  every  man, 
whose  inestimable  privilege  it  is  to  say  "  I  am  an  American 
Citizen,'-  to  extend  towards  Texas  and  the  Texians  his  generous 
greeting.  They  have  been  misrepresented  and  traduced  ;  but 
let  us  lift  the  odium  from  their  name,  for  they  are  a  brave  and 
a  magnanimous  people,  and  let  us  be  proud  everywhere, 
whether  it  be  by  the  firesides  of  our  northern  homes  or  in  the 
courts  of  foreign  princes,  to  call  them  brothers.  Let  us  show 
to  them  and  the  world  that  the  children  of  sires  who  bled  at 
Bunker  Hill  and  Yorktown,  know  how  to  prize  the  heroic 
men  who  rang  out  the  Anglo-Saxon  battle-cry  over  the  bloody 
field  of  San  Jacinto. 


But  we  are  admonished  that  we  have  already  trespassed  far 
too  long  upon  the  patience  of  our  kind  Readers.  Our  only 
excuse  is,  that,  in  tracing  the  fortunes  of  a  brave  People  and 
their  heroic  Leader,  we  have  been  beguiled  by  the  pleasant 
lights  and  shadows  that  have  fallen  over  the  path  where  we 
were  roaming.  A  few  words,  gentle  Reader,  and  we  will 
abuse  your  goodness  no  longer — for  we  must  not  leave  the 
hero  of  our  humble  story  on  the  surges,  as  the  elegant  and 
philosophical  Dumas  did  the  noble  Count  of  Monte  Christo. 

His  predecessor  had  made  war  upon  the  Indians,  and  carried 
desolation  to  their  peaceful  wigwams.  In  their  forest  homes 
were  heard  the  wailings  of  women  whose  chiefs  had  fallen  by 
the  hand  of  the  white  man;  and  the  young  Indian  boy  was 
sad  because  his  Chieftain  Father  led  him  out  no  more  on  the 
war-path.  Houston  had  seen  injustice  perpetrated  upon  the 
Red  Men,  and  when  his  last  term  began,  he  at  once  sent 
the  wampum  among  the  forest  tribes,  and  soon  after  went 
himself,  in  the  Indian  dress,  to  the  distant  woods  and  smoked 


TEXAS  AS  HOUSTON  LEFT  IT.  189 

the  pipe  of  peace  in  the  Chieftains'  dwellings.  He  made 
treaties  with  twenty-four  different  Chiefs,  and  they  regarded 
these  treaties  sacredly.  Among  them  he  felt  safe — he  wrapped 
his  blanket  about  him,  and  laid  himself  down  to  sleep  by  the 
fires  of  ferocious  savages,  near  whom  other  white  men  did  not 
dare  to  venture.  "  We  have  nothing  to  fear  from  an  Indian," 
he  used  to  say,  "if  we  only  treat  him  with  justice,  and  he 
believes  us  his  friends."  Peace  was  again  restored  along  the 
frontiers,  and  the  green  corn  was  again  growing  luxuriantly 
by  the  side  of  the  primeval  forests  where  the  savage  stealthily 
lurked  for  his  game. 

Houston  paid  off  a  large  amount  of  debt  incurred  by  his  pre- 
decessor, due  to  other  governments,  arising  from  the  prodigality 
of  the  administration.  He  created  no  new  debt — administered 
the  Government  on  the  basis  of  the  revenues,  and  left  the  Ex- 
chequer Bills  issued  at  the  beginning  of  his  term  at  par,  with  a 
considerable  surplus  in  the  Treasury. 

He  left  the  country  at  peace  with  all  the  Indian  tribes  on  the 
frontiers — the  Navy  was  laid  up  in  port,  for  there  was  no  use 
for  it — the  state  was  blessed  with  tranquillity  at  home,  the  na- 
tion was  prosperous — emigrants  of  the  better  class  were  rapidly 
pouring  in  from  the  North  and  from  Europe ;  and  the  people 
were  happy,  'fhe  prisoners  in  Mexico  were  all  restored  to 
their  homes — inland  trade  with  Mexico  was  brisk  and  lucrative ; 
— Texas  was  respected  by  all  nations,  and  Annexation  was 
near  its  consummation. 


Houston's  last  term  expired.  He  could  never  be  President 
again  ;  and  it  was  with  no  little  sadness  that  the  people  sav/  him 
lay  down  the  insignia  of  his  office,  and  take  leave  of  them,  to 
return  to  private  life.  He  was  received  back  with  joy  by  his 
family,  and  they  thought  that  he  would  part  from  them  no  more. 
His  home  was  on  a  rolling  elevation  in  the  midst  of  a  green 
prairie,  interspersed  with  Islands  of  trees,  and  silver  lakes, 
gleaming  in  the  sunlight.  His  labors,  his  sorrows,  and  his 
struggles  were  over,  and  in  the  bosom  of  an  affectionate  family 


190       HOUSTON  ELECTED  TO  THE  U.  S.  SENATE. 

he  expected  to  spend  the  last  peaceful  years  of  his  stormy  life  in 
the  noble  pursuits  of  the  husbandman. 

Texas  became  one  of  the  States  of  our  Confederacy,  and  she 
called  her  old  Leader  from  retirement  once  more,  to  represent  her 
in  the  Senate  at  Washington.  It  is  not  strange  that  he  yielded 
with  deep  reluctance — for  he  felt  that  in  his  quiet  home  he  was 
as  happy  as  the  regards  of  the  Nation  he  had  saved,  the  affec- 
tion and  society  of  his  wife  and  his  child,  and  the  remembrance 
of  sorrows  past  and  victories  won  could  make  him.  But  he  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  his  country,  and  brought  his  Republic  and 
laid  it  on  our  Federal  Altar. 


CONCLUSION. 

"  And  so,"  said  a  friend  to  us  a  day  or  two  ago,  when  we  had 
read  these  few  last  pages,  "  you  consider  Houston  a  perfect 
character" — 

No !   far  from  it — my .      In  a  world  like  ours,  such  a 

character  probably  does  not  exist:  But  we  do  believe,  that 
it  is  filled  with  noble  and  generous  hearts.  The  blight  that 
has  fallen  on  man  has  blotted  out  the  fair  image  of  perfection ; — 
but  it  has  not  chilled  every  noble  feeling — it  has  not  annihilated 
Heroism.  And  what  higher  office  can  we  aspire  to,  than  to  seek 
for  the  noble,  the  magnanimous  and  the  beautiful,  and  embalm 
it  for  coming  times  1 

We  know  all  of  Houston's  history.  We  know  that  his 
youth  was  wild  and  impetuous ;  but  it  was  spotted  by  no  crime, 
it  was  not  even  soiled  by  indulgence.  His  early  manhood  was 
filled  with  earnestness  and  daring,  but  it  was  deformed  by  no 
act  which  lost  for  him  the  confidence  of  the  virtuous,  or  the 
doating  love  of  his  mother.  We  know,  too,  that  just  as  he 
was  stepping  upon  the  theatre  of  high  and  brilliant  fame,  a 
cloud  came  over  the  sky,  and  wrapped  his  heart  and  his  home 
in  sadness  and  gloom. 

There  is  a  sorrow  which  even  the  Hero  cannot  bear.  The 
storms  of  life  may  beat  against  the  frail  dwelling  of  man  as 
wildly  as  they  will,  and  the  proud  and  the  generous  heart  may 


-y 


Houston's  private  character.  191 

still  withstand  the  blast.  But  when  the  poisoned  shaft  of  dis- 
appointment strikes  the  bosom  where  all  we  love  and  live  for  is 
treasured,  the  fruit  of  this  world  turns  to  ashes,  and  the  charm 
of  life  is  broken.  Then  it  is  that  too  often  reason  and  bliss  take 
their  flight  together. 

When  this  dark  cloud  fell  over  the  path  of  Houston,  he 
buried  his  sorrows  in  the  flowing  bowl.  His  indulgences  began 
with  the  wreck  of  his  hopes,  and  like  many  noble  and  generous 
spirits,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  fatal  enchantress.  But  his 
excesses  have  been  exaggerated  by  his  enemies  a  hundred 
fold.  We  believe  no  man  can  say  that  he  ever  saw  Houston 
rendered  incompetent  by  any  indulgences,  to  perform  any  of  the 
offices  of  private  or  public  life,  a  single  hour. 

But  the  days  of  his  indulgences  have  long  since  passed  away. 
When  the  sunlight  of  domestic  happiness  again  shone  through 
his  dwelling,  and  he  was  sustained  once  more  by  that  great  con- 
servative principle  of  a  man's  life,  a  happy  home,  illumined  by 
the  smile  of  an  affectionate  and  devoted  wife — his  good  angel 
came  back  again,  and  for  years  no  man  has  been  more  exemplary 
in  all  the  duties  and  all  the  virtues  of  the  citizen^  the  father  and  the 
husband.  From  that  moment  he  espoused  the  great  cause  of  Virtue 
and  Temperance,  with  all  the  earnestness  of  his  nature. 

Whenever  an  opportunity  has  been  presented,  he  has  elo- 
quently spoken,  in  public  and  in  private,  in  favor  of  that 
beneficent  movement,  which  has  restored  many  thousands  of 
generous  but  misguided  men  to  the  long-abandoned  embraces  of 
weeping  families,  and  to  the  noble  duties  of  citizenship.  And 
who  could  better  tell  the  horrors  and  the  woes  of  the  poor 
inebriate's  life  than  the  man  who  had  experienced  them  1  Who 
could  more  eloquently  and  winningly  woo  back  the  wanderer 
to  the  fold  of  virtue,  than  he  who  had  just  returned  to  its  hal- 
lowed enclosure  ?  Blessings  on  the  head  of  the  devoted  and 
beautiful  wife,  whose  tender  persuasions  proved  too  strong  for 
the  clamors  of  appetite  and  the  allurements  of  vice  !  In  win- 
ning the  stricken  wanderer  back  to  the  pure  charities  of  home, 
she  saved  the  State  one  of  its  noblest  citizens  ;  and  so  benign 
has  been  the  influence  of  his  wonderful  example,  and  so  calm, 


192  .Houston's  person. 

and  so  holy  a  light  beams  ceaselessly  around  the  altars  of  that 
distant  Prairie  Home,  that  his  child  will,  with   the  nation   he 
saved,  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed.    Houston's  indulgences  never 
were  carried  so  far  as  to  give  a  shock  to  his  constitution.     They 
were  only  occasional  at  any  period.     And  now  he  finds  himself 
standing  on  the  meridian  of  life,  with  an  erect,  well-made  form 
of  perfect  health  and  gigantic  strength.      His  hair  has  been 
turned  grey  by  Herculean  labors,  but  his  eye  is  still  soft  and 
clear,  and  it  beams  with  a  smile  which  no  man  can  wear  whose 
heart  does  not  overflow  with  love  of  country  and  philanthropy  to 
his  race.     His  countenance  is  flushed  with  the  glow  of  health 
and  cheerfulness,  which   seldom,  in  a  world  like  ours,  lingers 
after  the  morning  of  life  is  passed.     And  but  for  occasional 
days  of  suffering  from  the   wound   he    received   in   his    right 
shoulder  from  two  rifle-balls  at  To-ho-pe-ka,  more  than  thirty 
years   ago,  he  knows  no  physical  ailment.      Sometimes  these 
sufferings  are  intense,  and  he  will  never  be  free  from  them  while 
he  lives,  for  no  surgical  skill  has  ever  been  able  to  close  up  that 
wound.     It  has  discharged  every  day  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
In  a  manner  almost  miraculous,  he  has  entirely  recovered  from 
the  wound  in  his  ankle  received  at  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto. 

And  thus  we  find  ourselves  at  the  close  of  our  humble  work. 
Would  that  some  better  pen  had  performed  the  task  !  But  we 
could  not  forbear  to  make  the  offering,  however  unworthy  it 
may  be  to  History,  to  Heroism,  and  to  Truth.  And  if  it 
be  an  honor  to  human  nature  to  repent,  and  abandon 
errors  of  opinion  and  frailties  of  conduct,  why  may  not  the 
Biographer  rejoice  to  weave  the  woof  of  such  a  story  as  Hous- 
ton's, and  throw  it  before  the  world,  that  all  the  wrong  a  great 
man  may  have  inflicted  by  the  splendor  of  his  talents — who  had 
stooped  to  w^aste  his  time  as  Charles  James  Fox  did,  in  gar- 
nishing vice  by  his  genius,  and  ornamenting  crime  by  its  eleva- 
tion, may  be  at  last  atoned  for  by  the  reformation  of  the  admired 
individual  transgressor !  Such  a  case  would  seem  to  present 
one  of  the  most  captivating  subjects  in  all  history  for  the  pen  of 
a  Biographer. 


IMPORTANT  DISPATCHES  AND  STATE  PAPERS, 

ILLUSTRATIVE   OF   TEXIAN    HISTORY. 

official. 

City  of  Houston, 
April  16th,  1844. 
Gentlemen : 

Your  notes  have  both  reached  me,  one  of  the  30th  ult., 
and  one  of  the  1st  inst.  To  day  I  forward  to  the  State  De- 
partment all  my  dispatches. 

Col.  Ashbel  Smith,  our  Charge  d' Affaires,  writes  from 
Paris,  under  date  29lh  February,  this  important  fact.  "  The 
French  and  British  Governments  have  united  in  a  Protest  to 
the  United  States  aa^ainst  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the 
Union."  This  is  an  important  fact.  Never  has  the  situation 
of  Texas  been  so  interesting  since  the  21st  of  April,  1836,  as 
at  this  moment.  You  may  rely  upon  it,  if  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  does  not  act  immediately,  and  consummate 
the  work  of  annexation,  Texas  is  for  ever  lost  to  them. 

In  my  opinion,  England  and  France  will  say  to  Texas,  "  if 
you  will  agree  to  remain  separate  for  ever  from  the  United 
States,  we  will  forthwith  prevent  all  further  molestation  to  you 
from  Mexico,  and  guarantee  you  Independence,  agreeably  to 
your  Institutions  now  established  and  avowed."  You  cannot 
fail  to  discover  what  would  be  the  proper  course  of  Texas  in 
such  an  event.  Texas  has  done  all  that  she  could  do,  to  obtain 
annexation,  and  you  may  rely  upon  this  fact,  in  the  event  of  a 
failure,  that  Texas  will  do  all  tliat  she  sliould  do. 

If  a  Treaty  is  made,  it  will  of  course  have  been  done  after 
the  pledges  given  by  the  United  States  Charge  d' Affaires  have 
been  recognized  by  his  Government,  and  then  we  are  secure. 
If  a  Treaty  has  been  made,  and  those  pledges  exacted  by  you, 
and  it  should  be  rejected,  it  will  be  proper  to  ascertain  if  an- 
13 


194  DISPATCH    TO    TEXIAN    MINISTERS. 

nexation  can  take  place  by  Congressional  action,  and  this  done 
promptly.  Should  all  fail,  you  will  forthwith  call  upon  Mr. 
Packenham,  the  French  Minister,  as  well  as  also  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  after  suitable  conversations  and 
explanations,  present  to  them  the  subject  of  a  Triple  guarantee 
for  our  Independence,  and  to  prevent  all  further  molestation,  or 
at  least  an  unlimited  truce  with  Mexico.  And  then  if  all  prospect 
of  annexation  fails  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  it  should  refuse  to  unite  upon  the  basis  here  laid  down, 
you  will  then,  so  far  as  practicable,  arrange  the  matter  with 
France  and  England,  and  General  Henderson,  with  Mr.  Mil- 
ler, Secretary  of  the  Secret  Legation,  will  make  a  visit  of  leave 
.  to  the  Heads  of  the  proper  Departments,  and  return  to  Texas. 
Texas  ought  not,  cannot,  and  will  not  remain  in  its  present 
situation. 

The  subject  of  annexation  has  already  embarrassed  our  re- 
lations with  Mexico.  The  Truce  will  end  on  the  first  of  May, 
as  I  presume,  for  I  did  not  accede  to  the  terms  of  the  armistice, 
since  Texas  was  recognized  as  a  "Department  of  Mexico,"  in  the 
terms  of  agreement  between  the  commissioners.  Mexico  was 
well  disposed  to  settle  matters  very  amicably,  when  our  com- 
missioners arrived  at  Sabinus,  but  one  of  the  Mexican  com- 
missioners was  too  unwell  to  proceed  to  business.  When  he 
recovered,  the  subject  of  annexation  was  mooted  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  Texian  Congress,  all  of  which  had  reached 
Mexico.  Of  these  facts,  in  part.  Gen.  Henderson  was  apprised, 
and  the  anticipated  rupture  of  our  negotiations  with  Mexico 
was  one  reason  why  I  was  so  careful  to  require  of  Gen.  Mur- 
phy (endorsed  by  his  Government),  such  pledges  as  would  se- 
cure us  against  all  contingencies  that  might  arise  to  us,  in  con- 
sequence of  our  opening  negotiations  with  the  United  States, 
on  the  subject  of  annexation. 

This  Government  has  been  called  on,  and  requested  by  her 
Majesty's  Government,  to  state  our  relation  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  It  was  due  to  England,  and  her 
Majesty's  Government  was  informed  that  an  agent,  Gen.  Hen- 


DISPATCH    TO    TEXIAN    MINISTERS.  195 

derson,  had  been  sent  to  Washington  City,  to  negotiate  upon 
the  subject  of  annexation  ;  but  the  particulars  were  not  render- 
ed. Since  this  occurred,  I  had  an  interview  with  Capt.  Elliot, 
and  I  do  not  think  the  British  Government  will  withdraw  its 
friendly  offices  from  the  subject  of  Peace  between  Texas  and 
Mexico. 

It  is  reported  here,  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
has  refused  to  sanction  the  pledges  given  by  General  Murphy. 
This  surely  cannot  be  the  case.  If  so,  you  will  have  found 
yourselves  in  a  most  awkward  dilemma.  What — disavow 
such  pledges  when  they  were  based  upon  Mr.  Upshur's  letter  ? 
I  cannot  believe  this,  unless  the  United  States  desired  Texas 
to  surrender  herself  to  the  uncertainty,  or  chances  of  annexa- 
tion, contingent  upon  the  various  political  influences  which 
might  interpose  to  theconsummation  of  theobject,and  subject  us 
to  the  injurious  and  annoying  action  of  Mexico,  instigated  by 
the  adhesion  of  Texas  to  the  United  States.  A  refusal  on  the 
part  of  that  Government  to  secure  us  against  consequences, 
which  it  has  produced  by  direct  solicitation  of  us,  would  be 
selfish  in  the  extreme,  and  indeed  I  cannot  conceive  appropri- 
ate terms  in  which  to  characterize  such  conduct  and  policy,  in 
an  official  dispatch.  It  would  amount  to  this  only — that  if 
anything  could  be  made  out  of  Texas,  by  the  United  States, 
they  were  prepared  and  willing  to  derive  the  advantage,  and  if 
that  could  not  be  done,  they  wished  to  incur  no  responsibility 
on  the  account  of  Texas,  but  leave  her  to  all  the  consequences 
which  might  possibly  result  to  her  from  the  course,  which  her 
generosity  and  credulity  might  induce  her  to  pursue.  Pitiable 
would  our  situation  be  if  we  were  not  annexed,  and  had  re- 
quired no  pledges;  fortunately,  this  is  not  our  situation. 

You  have  now  all  the  grounds  before  you,  and  I  hope  you 
will  ponder  wisely  and  proceed  securely  for  our  safety. 

It  is  palpable  scandal  to  the  19th  century,  that  Statesmen 
should  be  prating  about  the  emancipation  of  persons  born,  and 
their  raee  held  in  slavery,  by  the  custom  and  consent  of  na- 
tions for  centuries,  while  they  permit  Santa  Anna  to  forge,  and 


196  DISPATCH    TO    TEXIAN    MINISTERS. 

and  rivet  chains  upon  eight-millions  of  people  who  were  born 
free.  Thus  will  the  horrors  of  slavery  be  increased,  with  de- 
sJ2:n  to  render  his  success  subservient  to  the  subversion  of  the 
liberties  of  Texas,  and  form  a  new  era  in  the  history  by  de- 
grading to  slavery  a  portion  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  This 
ought  not,  and  cannot  be.  It  argues  on  the  part  of  Statesmen 
a  want  of  perception,  as  well  as  self-respect. 

Gentlemen,  you  will  keep  the  Government  advised  by  every 
mail,  and  daily,  of  important  events  as  they  Jranspire.  If  you 
should  be  thrown  for  future  reliance  upon  the  friendly  offices 
of  Great  Britain  and  France,  you  will,  if  possible,  ascertain 
from  them  if  they  will  act  promptly,  and  what  conditions  they 
will  expect  of  this  Government. 

Mr.  Van  Zandt  has  written  that  the  United  States  were  not 
willing  to  form  any  alliance  with  Texas,  as  it  was  contrary  to 
their  policy.  Hence  the  necessity,  upon  the  failure  of  the  im- 
mediate annexation  of  this  country  to  the  confederacy  of  the 
North,  and  you  will,  as  I  have  indicated,  approach  the  Govern- 
ments of  England  and  France. 

It  is  the  first  duty  of  statesmen  and  patriots  to  insure  the 
liberty  and  well-being  of  their  country.  This  is  now  our  atti- 
tude, and  every  honest  man  in  Texas  will  justify  and  approve 
that  policy,  which  will  place  us  in  a  situation  where  our  lib- 
erties are  secured,  whether  it  be  by  annexation,  or  the  esta- 
blishment of  our  Independence.  France  and  England  will  act 
effectively,  if  we  do  not  permit  ourselves  to  be  trifled  "wdth  and 
duped  by  the  United  States.  But  of  this  subject,  as  your  situa- 
tion may  soon  call  your  attention  to  it,  you  will  be  the  best 

judges. 

*  **  *****  * 

This  letter  does  not  cancel  former  instructions  from  the  De- 
partment ;  but  it  is  designed  to  meet  emergencies  which  may 
arise,  or  remedy  those  which  have  already  arisen.  Having 
awaited  the  arrival  of  your  dispatches,  and  there  being  no  time 
to  forward  them,  and  send  a  reply  from  the  State  Department,  I 


DISPATCH    TO    TEXIAN    MINISTERS.  197 

have  deemed  it  proper  to  write  to  you  directly  by  the  return 
mail ;  so  that  you  may  be  ready?  in  the  event  of  necessity,  to 
take  such  action  as  our  situation  may  require,  and  be  prepared 
for  contingencies. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Your  obt.  servant, 

SAM  HOUSTON, 


To  Gen.  J.  P.  Henderson 

and 
Hon.  Isaac  Van  Zandt 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


:i 


Executive  Department,  > 

Washington,  July  29th5 1844.  ] 

To  His  Excellency, 

General  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna, 

President  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico  : 

It  appears  by  a  letter  received  from  General  Adrian 
Woll,  under  date  of  the  19th  ultimo,  that  you  have  entertained 
a  desire  to  communicate  with  this  government.  I  regret,  how- 
ever, extremely,  that  in  so  doing,  you  should  have  indulged  in  a 
departure  from  the  courtesy  which  ordinarily  obtains  in  the  cor- 
respondence between  civilized  States  of  the  present  age.  There 
are  certain  designated  and  universally  acknowledged  channels  of 
intercourse  between  nations,  such  as  the  Department  of  Statep 
or  Foreign  Affairs. 

Through  your  subaltern,  General  Woll,  you  have,  in  the  com- 
munication to  which  I  allude,  addressed  no  Government,  or 
functionary  of  any  Government.  It  is,  however,  addressed  to 
Texians  ;  but  in  language  w^hich  even  common  courtesy  does 
not  sanction. 

For  the  information  of  your  Excellency,  I  will  suggest,  that 
the  Commission  sent  out  by  this  Government  for  the  purpose  of 
regulating  the  conditions  of  an  Armistice  between  the  two  coun- 
tries was  authorized  by  the  President  of  Texas,  and  as  such  must 
have  been  communicated  to  your  Excellency ;  otherwise  they 
could  not  have  been  received  in  their  official  capacity.  Their 
credentials  alone  entitled  them  to  the  recognition  of  yourself  or 
officers. 

The  Texian  Commissioners  had  special  and  prescribed  powers 
delegated  to  them,  and  all  their  acts  were  subject  to  the  review 
and  rejection,  or  approval  of  the  Executive.  Without  approval, 
they  could  acquire  no  validity.  The  designation  of  Texas  as  a 
Department  of  the  Mexican  confederacy  so-calledy  Wcis  highly  ob- 
noxious to  the  President,  and  consequently  the  conduct  of  the 


LETTER    TO    SANTA    ANNA. 


199 


Commissioners  was,  at  once,  disapproved.  For  this,  you  are, 
now.  Sir,  pleased  to  express,  through  your  subaltern,  youv  indig- 
nation at  the  perfidious  conduct  of  the  people  of  Texas. 

I  regret  much  that  you  have  given  this  complexion  to  the  af- 
fairs of  the  two  countries.  When  men,  by  chance  or  Providence, 
have  been  elevated  to  the  rule  of  nations,  and  entrusted  with  the 
protection  of  the  best  interests  of  the  people,  it  must  be  consi- 
dered a  great  misfortune  if  they  entail  upon  them  calamities 
which  their  duties  as  philanthropists  should  teach  them  to 
avert. 

Whenbelligerents,even  in  the  most  angry  excitement  of  feeling, 
are  arrayed  against  each  other,  it  is  but  proper  that  their  chieftains 
should  preserve  toward  each  other  that  comity  which  might  render 
them  approachable,  and  thereby  avert  great  human  suffering  and 
the  effusion  of  human  blood.  When  war  rages,  all  ranks  and 
conditions  are  subject  to  its  agitations  and  calamities.  Texas 
has  already  endured  the  extremest  agony,  and  will  endeavor  to 
profit  by  her  experience.  Against  her,  you  have  again  denounc- 
ed war.  We  will  await  the  event.  Eight  years  ago,  you  were 
a  suppliant ;  obtained  your  liberation  without  ransom,  and  ac- 
knowledged the  Government  of  Texas.  If  Texas  existed  then 
as  a  nation,  her  recognition  since  then  by  other  powers,  and  her  in- 
creased commercial  relations,  would  well  excuse  your  recognition 
now  of  her  sovereignty.  But,  Sir,  you  speak  of  your  resources 
and  powder.  They  were  defied  and  triumphed  over  in  1836 ;  and 
if  you  invade  Texas  in  1844,  you  will  find  neither  her  prowess 
nor  the  success  of  her  arms  less  complete. 

I  desire  to  know  for  what  reason  you  have  charged  the  author- 
ities of  Texas  with  perfidy.  Have  they  given  to  Mexico  any 
pledge  they  have  not  redeemed  I  They  have  liberated  her  chiefs 
and  soldiers  taken  on  the  field  of  battle,  without  obligation  so  to 
do.  But  they  are  of  a  race  which  permit  neither  their  word  nor 
their  honor  to  be  falsified.  How  has  it  been  with  Mexico  ? 
The  capitulation  of  Fannin  was  disregarded,  and  hundreds  mas- 
sacred in  cold  blood.  You  indeed  denied  a  cognisance  of  this 
fact ;  declared  that  you  were  implicated  by  the  fidsehood  of  Gen. 
Urrea,  and  that  if  you  ever  returned  to  your  country  and  came 


200  LETTER    TO    SANTA    ANNA. 

into  power,  you  would  execute  him  for  his  duplicity.  Have  you 
done  it  1  You  have  power,  but  to  what  purpose  1  Of  the  inof- 
fensive Traders  who  visited  Santa  Fe,  and  capitulated  to  your  offi- 
cers, what  was  the  treatment  1 

They  were  slaughtered  by  the  way-side,  when  unable  to 
march,  and  their  ears  cut  off;  evidences,  indeed,  of  barbari- 
ty not  heard  of  among  nations  pretending  to  be  civilized,  since 
the  ninth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Again,  at  the  surren- 
der of  Mier,  your  officers  pledged  to  the  men  the  protection 
due  to  prisoners  of  war  ;  in  fulfilment  of  which,  they  were  soon 
after  barbarously  decimated,  and  the  remainder  ever  since  held 
in  chains  and  prison.  They  were  also  to  be  returned  to  their 
home  immediately  after  their  submission  ; — but  every  pledge 
given  to  them  has  been  violated.  Is  this  good  faith '?  You 
pledged  yourself  also  solemnly,  through  H.  B.  M.  Ministers,  to 
release  the  Texian  prisoners  in  Mexico,  if  those  of  Mexico  re- 
maining in  Texas,  should  be  set  at  liberty — which  was  done  on 
the  part  of  this  Government,  by  public  proclamation,  and  safe 
conduct  offered  to  them  to  return  to  their  country.  Have  you 
performed  your  part  of  the  agreement  and  your  duty  ?  Are  they 
free?  Will  all  this  justify  you  in  charging,  through  General 
Woll,  either  the  Government  or  citizens  of  Texas  with  perfidy, 
or  its  Executive  with  double  dealing  in  diplomacy  1 

I  regret,  Sir,  extremely,  that  it  has  been  my  duty  thus  to  ad- 
vert to  circumstances  which  must  be  as  disagreeable  to  you  as  to 
myself.     But  you  have  invoked  it. 

You  have  denounced  war,  and  intend  to  prosecute  it ;  do  it 
presently.  We  will  abide  the  result.  Present  yourself  with  a 
force  that  indicates  a  desire  of  conquest,  and  with  all  the  ap- 
pendages of  your  power,  and  I  may  respect  your  effort.  But 
the  marauding  incursions  which  have  heretofore  characterized 
your  molestation,  will  only  deserve  the  contempt  of  honorable 

minds. 

I  have  the  honor,  &c.,  &c. 

SAM  HOUSTON. 


RESOLUTIONS    OF    THK    SKNATE    OF    TEXAS.  201 


Senate  Chamber,      > 
December  9th,  1844.  j 
To  His  Excellency, 

Sam  Houston,  President. 
Sir, 

I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  your  Ex- 
cellency the  following  Resolutions,  introduced  by  the  Hon. 
David  S.  Kaufman,  Senator  from  the  District  of  Shelby,  Sa- 
bine, and  Harrison,  and  passed  by  the  Senate. 

1st.  Resolved  by  the  Senate,  That  the  Administration  of 
President  Houston,  which  this  day  terminates,  has  been  cha- 
racterized by  a  forecast,  economy,  and  ability,  which  entitle  it 
to  the  thanks  and  gratitude  of  the  Nation. 

2d.  Resolved,  That  as  the  Constitutional  advisers  of  the 
President,  we  have  undiminished  confidence  in  the  unbend- 
ing integrity  and  devoted  patriotism  of  Gen.  Sam  Houston, 
and  he  carries  with  him  into  retirement,  our  warm  wishes  for 
his  health  and  happiness. 

2d.  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  furnish  Gen.  Houston 
with  a  copy  of  these  Resolutions. 

With  great  respect, 

HENRY  J.  JENET, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate. 


INDEX. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

The  Hero-People — Trial  Days  to  Nations      ...  -        5 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Beginning  of  Life— His  Mother— The  Field-School— The  He- 
roine and  her  Children — The  Academy  and  Pope's  Iliad  — 
Life  among  the  Indians — The  Romance  of  Youth — Meet- 
ing with  Indian  Chieftains — Keeps  School — Enlists  in  the 
Army — Parts  with  his  Mother  and  marches    -        ...        8 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  Soldier— The  Battle  of  the  Horse-Shoe— The  Soldier's  First 
Wound — The  Signal  from  Heaven — Houston's  Second 
Wound — The  Wounded  Soldier — Borne  on  a  Litter  to  his 
Mother's  house — Voyage  down  the  Mississippi — Travelling 
in  search  of  Health — Resigns  his  Commission  in  the  Army   -        17 

CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Civilian — Elected  to  Congress— Becomes  Governor— His  mar- 
riage—Separation from  his  Wife— Goes  mto  Exile        -        -        28 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  Exile— The  old  Chief  of  Oolooteka— Life  amons  the  Chero- 
kees— Outrages  upon  the  Indians— Houston's  opinions  of  the 
Indians— Perpetrators  of    wrong  exposed— Houston  visits 


204  INDEX. 


PAGE 


Washington — Conspiracy  to  crush  him— His  Trial  before 
Congress — Triumph  over  the  Conspiracy — Returns  to  his 
Exile — The  Hearth-stone  of  a  Savage  King  -        ...        33 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Texas — The  New  Field — First  Anglo-Saxon  Convention — Doings 
of  the  Convention — The  Constitution  and  Policy  of  the  new 
State — Houston's  Public  Policy — Austin's  Imprisonment  in 
Mexico — Outrages  and  Wrongs  perpetrated  on  Texas — A 
Mexican  Army  invades  Texas — Texas  prepares  for  the 
Struggle — Proceedings  of  the  Consultation — Houston  elected 
Commander-in-Chief — The  Progress  of  Liberty — Milam  and 
his  heroic  Band — Intrigues  against  Houston — Insubordina- 
tion and  Conspiracy — Fatal  results  of  disobeying  Houston's 
orders — Attempts  to  crush  Houston — Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence       -45 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  General — The  Crisis  coming — The  Fall  of  the  Alamo — Hous- 
ton starts  for  the  Scene  of  Conflict — Causes  of  the  present 
War — Houston  organizes  the  Army — The  Fall  of  the  Alamo — 
Consternation  in  the  Camp — A  Night's  March — The  March  of 
the  Army — Houston's  Dispatches — The  Massacre  of  Fannin's 
Regiment — The  Sagacity  of  the  General — Camp  on  the  Bra- 
zos—Santa Anna's  Plan  of  Campaign — Movements  of  the 
Army — Convention  breaks  up  in  Alarm — The  Army  crosses 
the  Brazos— March  through  the  Prairie — Houston  prepares 
to  meet  Santa  Anna — Passage  of  Buffalo  Bayou — Last  Des- 
patch before  San  Jacinto — March  to  the  Battle-Field — Meetmg 
of  the  two  Armies — Skirmishing  the  first  day — Treachery  in 
Houston's  Camp— The  Night  before  the  Batttle    -        -        -        63 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Hero  of  San  Jacinto — The  Morning  of  San  Jacinto— The  De- 
struction of  Vince's  Bridge— Order  of  Battle— Charge  of  the 
Texian  Army— The  Work  of  Slaughter— The  Struggle  for 
Life — The  Day  of  Vengeance — The  Flight  to  Vince's  Bridge — 
The  Victory — The  Spoils  of  Victory — Advancement  of  the  An- 
glo-Saxon race— Why  Americans  first  went  to  Texas— Perfi- 


INDEX.  205 

PAGE 

dy  of  Mexican  Dictators — Texas  compelled  to  fight  for  Life 
— The  Drama  of  the  New  World — Tlie  Dominion  of  Mexico 
passing  away 92 

CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Victor  and  the  Captive— Capture  of  Santa  Anna — Meeting  of 
the  two  Generals — Conversations  between  the  Victor  and 
Captive — Almonte  and  Houston — The  San  Jacinto  Corn — At- 
tempt to  assassinate  Santa  Anna — The  bald  Eagles  over  the 
Field  of  Battle — Santa  Anna's  proposals  for  his  release — San- 
ta Anna's  Orders  to  Filisola — The  "  Fugitive  Government"  at 
last  found — Houston's  views  of  Santa  Anna's  Release  — 
"  Mountain  Lies" — Houston  left  to  die  on  the  Battle-Field — 
Arrives  at  Galveston — Houston's  parting  from  the  Army — 
His  Reception  at  New  Orleans — Return  to  Texas — Protest 
against  Santa  Anna's  Execution — Treaty  and  Liberation  of 
Santa  Anna — Lawless  Conduct  of  Green — Santa  Anna's  Pro- 
test— Lamar  rejected  by  the  Army 109 

CHAPTER    X. 

The  President — Houston's  Inauguration — His  Inaugural  Address 
— Organization  of  his  Administration — Visits  Santa  Anna  in 
Prison — Santa  Anna's  Liberation — Recognition  of  Texian  In- 
dependence—Course of  American  Senate — The  Spirit  of 
Houston's  Administration — State  of  Texas — Houston  dis- 
bands the  Army — Reckless  Legislation — Vetoes — Beneficent 
Fruits  of  Houston's  Administration— A  Frontier  Population — 
Houston's  Valedictory  Address — The  Benediction  of  the  Pa- 
triot and  Soldier .       132 

CHAPTER    XI. 

The  Legislator — The  Santa  Fe  Expedition — A  Puerile  Statesman 
— Ontrages  on  the  Indians — Lamar's  Administration — Hous- 
ton in  Congress 150 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Again  President — Houston's  Second  Administration — News  of  a 
Mexican  Invasion — The  Extra   Session   of   Congress — An 


206 


INDEX. 


PAGE 


Alarming  Crisis — Acts  of  Houston's  Administration — Mexi- 
can Warfare — An  Appeal  to  the  Great  Powers — Official  His- 
tory of  Mexican  Invasion — Character  and  Disposition  of  the 
Governments — Determination  of  the  Texian  Government — 
Appeal  for  the  Intervention  of  the  Great  Powers  -        -        -       156 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Annexation — French,  British,  and  American  Cabinets — Vigilant 
Policy  of  England  and  France — Intervention  of  France  and 
England — Important  Despatch  of  Houston — Instructions  to 
suspend  Negotiation — Secret  Message  to  the  Congress  of  Tex- 
as— Houston's  Secret  Message — Old  England  by  the  side  of 
Texas — Negotiations  again  opened — The  Consequences  of 
Annexation — The  Position  of  the  two  Countries — Houston's 
real  feelings  about  Annexation — The  Crisis  of  Annexation — 
Consequences  of  its  Failure — Destiny  of  Texas  left  to  herself 
— The  Great  South-western  Republic — A  Power  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains— Close  of  the  Letter  ....      168 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Retirement — Houston's  Character — Annexation  at  last  Consum- 
mated— American  feeling  towards  Texas — Texas  as  Houston 
left  it — Houston  elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate — His  Private 
Character — His  Person 186 


IMPORTANT  DISPATCHES  AND  STATE  PAPERS. 

Despatch  to  Texian  Ministers — The  Spirit  of  Houston's  Adminis- 
tration— Acts  of  his  Administration — Letter  to  Santa  Anna — 
Resolutions  of  the  Senate  of  Texas 193 


THE  EAGLES  OVER  THE  FIELD  OF  SAN  JACINTO, 


The  flight  of  ravens  through  the  dusky  air, 
The  superstitious  Roman  deem'd 
Propitious  omen  of  triumphant  arms, 
And  march'd  to  conquest — this  his  sole  intent. 
Empire  alone,  his  proud  ambition  fill'd ; 
For  this  he  fought,  and  fame  of  daring  deeds. 
Empire  was  his,  and  fame  of  Heroism — 
But  warring  to  enslave — to  ashes  fell 
The  gilded,  coreless  fruit,  unblest  of  Heaven. 
Dark  as  the  raven's  wing,  the  breath  of  Fate 
Swept  o'er  his  conquests,  and  his  empire  fell 
Albeit,  his  valor,  with  the  empire,  gained 
And  saved  the  mind's  achievements — 
Arts  and  sciences  of  nations  conquer'd. 
And  last  of  all,  amidst  his  trophies,  shone 
The  two  great  lights  of  earth's  Redemption  : 
The  flame  of  Sinai,  and  Bethlehem's  star ; — 
And  yet  he  knew  them  not  from  darkness. 

The  Gothic  Hero  from  his  icy  home 
Came  down  and  snatch'd  them  from  the  Seven  Hilb. 
Thenceforth  the  vital  germ  of  Freedom  sprang. 
The  Saxon  bore  it  to  the  Briton's  home, 
And  He  transplanted  it,  in  this  New  World. 

Lo  !  what  a  glorious,  soul-inspiring  show 
The  tramp  of  Freedom  through  the  Western  World  ! 
Look  through  the  lens  of  Time,  that  gathers  in 
His  mighty  movements  through  the  century — 
How  like  a  wonder,  swells  his  vast  procession  ; 
From  one  small  vessel's  crew,  to  millions  ! 
How  rays  his  torch  across  the  Continent ; — 
At  every  gleam  an  Empire  springs  to  life — 
At  every  gleam,  a  Despot's  throne  doth  quake — 
At  every  gleam  through  dark  barbarians'  wilds, 
A  State  springs  up,  and  golden  harvests  wave. 


208         THE    EAGLES    OVER  THE    FIELD    OF    SAN    JACINTO. 

Stay  not  his  course  ! — 
See  !  on  the  western  ocean's  peaceful  shore 
His  torch  bright  glowing,  and  his  flag  unfurled. 
A  dark  spot  intervenes — but  all  around, 
The  rays  of  civilization  penetrate 
Inevitably,  to  illumine  all ! 

Fair  Freedom's  torch 


Is  blazing  on  the  broad  Pacific's  shore, 
That  way  from  San  Jacinto's  battle-field 
Flew — not  the  ominous  Ravens  of  old  Rome, 
The  talisman  alone  of  victory  and  empire ; — 
The  flight  of  Eagles  told  the  Hero  more — 
Of  Freedom's  triumph  o'er  the  Western  World! 

Look  through  the  lens  again,  the  future  see  ; — 
See  Freedom's  flag  of  interwoven  dyes. 
And  torch  of  golden  light,  in  every  wave 
Reflected. — Against  the  shores  of  Asia 
See  them  dash  illum'd  all  Avith  hope-beams  ! 
Against  all  shores  they  dash,  difi"using  light 
Like  young  Auroras,  o'er  the  world  new-born. 

Stay  not  their  course  ! — Thou  can'st  not,  if  thou  would'st  :• 

*  These  beautiful  lines  are  furnished  by  a  friend. 


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